A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


WITH  MY  BACK  AGAINST  A  GOLDEN  THRONE.  I  FOUGHT  ONCE  AGAIN 
FOR  DEJAH  THORIS. 

Frontispiece  (Page  298) 


A  PRINCESS 
OF  MARS 


BY 

EDGAR  RICE  BURROUGHS 


AUTHOR  OF 

TARZAN  OF  THE  APES,  THE  RETURN  OF 
TARZAN.  THE  BEASTS  OF  TARZAN,  ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED  BY 

FRANK  E.  SCHOONOVER 


NEW    YORK 

GROSSET   &    DUNLAP 

PUBLISHERS 


1.1- 


Made  in  the  United  States  of  America 


Copyright 

A.  C  McClurg  &  Co. 
1917 

Published  October,  1917 

• 
Copyrighted  in  Great  Britain 


mi 


JACK 


FOREWORD 

To  the  Reader  of  this  Work: 

In  submitting  Captain  Carter's  strange  manu 
script  to  you  in  book  form,  I  believe  that  a  few 
words  relative  to  this  remarkable  personality  will 
be  of  interest. 

My  first  recollection  of  Captain  Carter  is  of 
the  few  months  he  spent  at  my  father's  home  in 
Virginia,  just  prior  to  the  opening  of  the  civil 
war.  I  was  then  a  child  of  but  five  years,  yet  I 
well  remember  the  tall,  dark,  smooth-faced, 
athletic  man  whom  I  called  Uncle  Jack. 

He  seemed  always  to  be  laughing;  and  he  en 
tered  into  the  sports  of  the  children  with  the  same 
hearty  good  fellowship  he  displayed  toward  those 
pastimes  in  which  the  men  and  women  of  his  own 
age  indulged;  or  he  would  sit  for  an  hour  at  a  time 
entertaining  my  old  grandmother  with  stories  of 
his  strange,  wild  life  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  We 
all  loved  him,  and  our  slaves  fairly  worshipped 
the  ground  he  trod. 

He  was  a  splendid  specimen  of  manhood,  stand- 
[vii] 


FOREWORD 


ing  a  good  two  inches  over  six  feet,  broad  of 
shoulder  and  narrow  of  hip,  with  the  carriage 
of  the  trained  fighting  man.  His  features  were 
regular  and  clear  cut,  his  hair  black  and  closely 
cropped,  while  his  eyes  were  of  a  steel  gray, 
reflecting  a  strong  and  loyal  character,  filled  with 
fire  and  initiative.  His  manners  were  perfect,  and 
his  courtliness  was  that  of  a  typical  southern 
gentleman  of  the  highest  type. 

His  horsemanship,  especially  after  hounds,  was 
a  marvel  and  delight  even  in  that  country  of  mag 
nificent  horsemen.  I  have  often  heard  my  father 
caution  him  against  his  wild  recklessness,  but  he 
would  only  laugh,  and  say  that  the  tumble  that 
killed  him  would  be  from  the  back  of  a  horse  yet 
unfoaled. 

When  the  war  broke  out  he  left  us,  nor  did  I 
see  him  again  for  some  fifteen  or  sixteen  years. 
When  he  returned  it  was  without  warning,  and  I 
was  much  surprised  to  note  that  he  had  not  aged 
apparently  a  moment,  nor  had  he  changed  in  any 
other  outward  way.  He  was,  when  others  were 
with  him,  the  same  genial,  happy  fellow  we  had 
known  of  old,  but  when  he  thought  himself  alone 
I  have  seen  him  sit  for  hours  gazing  off  into  space, 

his  face  set  in  a  look  of  wistful  longing  and  hope- 

[•••  i 
vm] 


FOREWORD 


less  misery;  and  at  night  he  would  sit  thus  looking 
up  into  the  heavens,  at  what  I  did  not  know  until 
I  read  his  manuscript  years  afterward. 

He  told  us  that  he  had  been  prospecting  and 
mining  in  Arizona  part  of  the  time  since  the  war; 
and  that  he  had  been  very  successful  was  evidenced 
by  the  unlimited  amount  of  money  with  which  he 
was  supplied.  As  to  the  details  of  his  life  during 
these  years  he  was  very  reticent,  in  fact  he  would 
not  talk  of  them  at  all. 

He  remained  with  us  for  about  a  year  and  then 
went  to  New  York,  where  he  purchased  a  little 
place  on  the  Hudson,  where  I  visited  him  once  a 
year  on  the  occasions  of  my  trips  to  the  New  York 
market — my  father  and  I  owning  and  operating  a 
string  of  general  stores  throughout  Virginia  at  that 
time.  Captain  Carter  had  a  small  but  beautiful 
cottage,  situated  on  a  bluff  overlooking  the  river, 
and  during  one  of  my  last  visits,  in  the  winter  of 
1885,  I  observed  he  was  much  occupied  in  writ 
ing,  I  presume  now,  upon  this  manuscript.  j 

He  told  me  at  this  time  that  if  anything  should 
happen  to  him  he  wished  me  to  take  charge  of  his 
estate,  and  he  gave  me  a  key  to  a  compartment 
in  the  safe  which  stood  in  his  study,  telling  me  I 
would  find  his  will  there  and  some  personal  instruo 

[he] 


FOREWORD 


tions  which  he  had  me  pledge  myself  to  carry  out 
with  absolute  fidelity. 

After  I  had  retired  for  the  night  I  have  seen 
him  from  my  window  standing  in  the  moonlight 
on  the  brink  of  the  bluff  overlooking  the  Hudson 
with  his  arms  stretched  out  to  the  heavens  as 
though  in  appeal.  I  thought  at  the  time  that  he 
was  praying,  although  I  never  had  understood  that 
he  was  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  term  a  religious 
man. 

Several  months  after  I  had  returned  home  from 
my  last  visit,  the  first  of  March,  1886,  I  think, 
I  received  9  telegram  from  him  asking  me  to  come 
to  him  at  once.  I  had  always  been  his  favorite 
fcmong  the  younger  generation  of  Carters  and  so  I 
hastened  to  comply  with  his  demand. 

I  arrived  at  the  little  station,  about  a  mile  from 
his  grounds,  on  the  morning  of  March  4,  1886, 
and  when  I  asked  the  livery  man  to  drive  me  out 
to  Captain  Carter's  he  replied  that  if  I  was  a 
friend  of  the  Captain's  he  had  some  very  bad  news 
for  me ;  the  Captain  had  been  found  dead  shortly 
ifter  daylight  that  very  morning  by  the  watchman 
attached  to  an  adjoining  property. 

For  some  reason  this  news  did  not  surprise 
me,  but  I  hurried  out  to  his  place  as  quickly  as 


FOREWORD 


possible,  so  that  I  could  take  charge  of  the  body 
and  of  his  affairs. 

I  found  the  watchman  who  had  discovered  him, 
together  with  the  local  police  chief  and  several 
townspeople,  assembled  in  his  little  study.  The 
watchman  related  the  few  details  connected  with 
the  finding  of  the  body,  which  he  said  had  been 
still  warm  when  he  came  upon  it.  It  lay,  he  said, 
stretched  full  length  in  the  snow  with  the  arms 
outstretched  above  the  head  toward  the  edge  of 
the  bluff,  and  when  he  showed  me  the  spot  it 
flashed  upon  me  that  it  was  the  identical  one  where 
I  had  seen  him  on  those  other  night*,  with  his 
arms  raised  in  supplication  to  the  skies. 

There  were  no  marks  of  violence  on  the  body, 
and  wrth  the  aid  of  a  local  physician  the  coroner's 
jury  quickly  reached  a  decision  of  death  from 
heart  failure.  Left  alone  in  the  study,  I  opened 
the  safe  and  withdrew  the  contents  of  the  drawer 
in  which  he  had  told  me  I  would  find  my  instruc 
tions.  They  were  in  part  peculiar  indeed,  but  I 
have  followed  them  to  each  last  detail  as  faith 
fully  as  I  was  able. 

He  directed  that  I  remove  his  body  to  Virginia 
without  embalming,  and  that  he  be  laid  in  an 
open  coffin  within  a  tomb  which  he  previously  had 


FOREWORD 


had  constructed  and  which,  as  I  later  learned,  was 
well  ventilated.  The  instructions  impressed  upon 
me  that  I  must  personally  see  that  this  was  car 
ried  out  just  as  he  directed,  even  in  secrecy  if 
necessary. 

His  property  was  left  in  such  a  way  that  I  was 
to  receive  the  entire  income  for  twenty-five  years, 
when  the  principal  was  to  become  mine.  His 
further  instructions  related  to  this  manuscript 
which  I  was  to  retain  sealed  and  unread,  just  as  I 
found  it,  for  eleven  years;  nor  was  I  to  divulge 
its  contents  until  twenty-one  years  after  his  death. 

A  strange  feature  about  the  tomb,  where  his 
body  still  lies,  is  that  the  massive  door  is  equipped 
with  a  single,  huge  gold-plated  spring  lock  which 
can  be  opened  only  from  the  inside. 

Yours  very  sincerely, 
EDGAR  RICE  BURROUGHS. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PACT 

I  On  the  Arizona  Hills 1 

II    The  Escape  of  the  Dead 14 

III  My  Advent  on  Mars 22 

IV  A  Prisoner 35 

V    I  Elude  My  Watch  Dog 46 

VI  A  Fight  That  Won  Friends      ....  54 

VII     Child-Raising   on    Mars 62 

VIII  A  Fair  Captive  from  the  Sky    ....  72 

IX    I    Learn    the    Language 82 

X     Champion  and  Chief 89 

XI    With    Dejah   Thoris 106 

XII    A  Prisoner  with  Power 118 

XIII  Love-Making   on    Mars       .      .      .      .      .128 

XIV  A  Duel  to  the  Death 139 

XV    Sola  Tells  Me  Her  Story 155 

XVI    We  Plan  Escape 170 

XVII    A    Costly   Recapture 188 

XVIII     Chained   in   Warhoon 202 

XIX     Battling  in  the  Arena 210 

XX  In  the  Atmosphere  Factory      ,      .      .      .219 

XXI  An  Air  Scout  for  Zodanga      ....  235 

XXTI    I  Find  Dejah 252 

XXIII  Lost  in  the  Sky      ........  270 

XXIV  Tars  Tarkas  Finds  a  Friend      ....  281 
XXV    The  Looting  of  Zodanga 294 

XXVI     Through  Carnage  to  Joy 303 

XXVII     From  Joy  to   Death 314 

XXVIII  At  the  Arizona  Cave  32^ 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


CHAPTER  I 

ON  THE  ARIZONA  HILLS 

I  AM  a  very  old  man ;  how  old  I  do  not  know. 
Possibly  I  am  a  hundred,  possibly  more;  but 
I  cannot  tell  because  I  have  never  aged  as  other 
men,  nor  do  I  remember  any  childhood.  So  far 
as  I  can  recollect  I  have  always  been  a  man,  a 
man  of  about  thirty.  I  appear  today  as  I  did 
forty  years  and  more  ago,  and  yet  I  feel  that  I 
cannot  go  on  living  forever;  that  some  day  I  shall 
die  the  real  death  from  which  there  is  no  resurrec 
tion.  I  do  not  know  why  I  should  fear  death, 
I  who  have  died  twice  and  am  still  alive ;  but  yet 
I  have  the  same  horror  of  it  as  you  who  have 
never  died,  and  it  is  because  of  this  terror  of  death, 
I  believe,  that  I  am  so  convinced  of  my  mortality. 
And  because  of  this  conviction  I  have  determined 
to  write  down  the  story  of  the  interesting  periods 
of  my  life  and  of  my  death.  I  cannot  explain  the 
phenomena ;  I  can  only  set  down  here  in  the  words 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


of  an  ordinary  soldier  of  fortune  a  chronicle  of  the 
strange  events  that  befell  me  during  the  ten  years 
that  my  dead  body  lay  undiscovered  in  an  Arizona 
cave. 

I  have  never  told  this  story,  nor  shall  mortal 
man  see  this  manuscript  until  after  I  have  passed 
over  for  eternity.  I  know  that  the  average  human 
mind  will  not  believe  what  it  cannot  grasp,  and  so 
I  do  not  purpose  being  pilloried  by  the  public,  the 
pulpit,  and  the  press,  and  held  up  as  a  colossal 
liar  when  I  am  but  telling  the  simple  truths  which 
some  day  science  will  substantiate.  Possibly  the 
suggestions  which  I  gained  upon  Mars,  and  th" 
knowledge  which  I  can  set  down  in  this  chronicle 
will  aid  in  an  earlier  understanding  of  the  mysteries 
of  our  sister  planet;  mysteries  to  you,  but  no 
longer  mysteries  to  me. 

My  name  is  John  Carter;  I  am  better  known 
as  Captain  Jack  Carter  of  Virginia.  At  the  close 
of  the  Civil  War  I  found  myself  \  assessed  of 
several  hundred  thousand  dollars  (Confederate) 
and  a  captain's  commission  in  the  cavalry  arm  of 
an  army  which  no  longer  existed ;  the  servant  of  a 
state  which  had  vanished  with  the  hopes  of  the 
South.  Masterless,  penniless,  and  with  my  only 
of  livelihood,  fighting,  gone,  I  determined 


ON  THE  ARIZONA  HILLS 

to  work  my  way  to  the  southwest  and  attempt  to 
retrieve  my  fallen  fortunes  in  a  search  for  gold. 

I  spent  nearly  a  year  prospecting  in  company 
with  another  Confederate  officer,  Captain  James 
K.  Powell  of  Richmond.  We  were  extremely 
fortunate,  for  late  in  the  winter  of  1865,  after 
many  hardships  and  privations,  we  located  the 
most  remarkable  gold-bearing  quartz  vein  that 
our  wildest  dreams  had  ever  pictured.  Powell, 
who  was  a  mining  engineer  by  education,  stated 
that  we  had  uncovered  over  a  million  dollars  worth 

of  ore  in  a  trifle  over  three  months. 
. 

•    As  our  equipment  was  crude  in  the  extreme  we 

*' 

decided  that  one  of  us  must  return  to  civilization, 
purchase  the  necessary  machinery  and  return  with 
a  sufficient  force  of  men  properly  to  work  the 
mine. 

As  Powell  was  familiar  with  the  country,  as  well 
as  with  the  mechanical  requirements  of  mining  we 
determined  that  it  would  be  best  for  him  to  make 
the  trip.  It  was  agreed  that  I  was  to  hold  down 
our  claim  against  the  remote  possibility  of  its  being 
jumped  by  some  wandering  prospector. 

On  March  3,  1866,  Powell  and  I  packed  his 
provisions  on  two  of  our  burros,  and  bidding  me 
good-bye  he  mounted  his  horse,  and  started  down 

[3] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


the  mountainside  toward  the  valley,  across  which 
led  the  first  stage  of  his  journey. 

The  morning  of  Powell's  departure  was,  like 
nearly  all  Arizona  mornings,  clear  and  beautiful; 
I  could  see  him  and  his  little  pack  animals  picking 
their  way  down  the  mountainside  toward  the 
valley,  and  all  during  the  morning  I  would  catch 
occasional  glimpses  of  them  as  they  topped  a  hog 
back  or  came  out  upon  a  level  plateau.  My  last 
sight  of  Powell  was  about  three  in  the  afternoon 
as  he  entered  the  shadows  of  the  range  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  valley. 

Some  half  hour  later  I  happened  to  glance 
casually  across  the  valley  and  was  much  surprised 
to  note  three  little  dots  in  about  the  same  place  I 
had  last  seen  my  friend  and  his  two  pack  animals. 
I  am  not  given  to  needless  worrying,  but  the  more 
I  tried  to  convince  myself  that  all  was  well  with 
Powell,  and  that  the  dots  I  had  seen  on  his  trail 
were  antelope  or  wild  horses,  the  less  I  was  able 
to  assure  myself. 

Since  we  had  entered  the  territory  we  had  not 
seen  a  hostile  Indian,  and  we  had,  therefore, 
become  careless  in  the  extreme,  and  were  wont  to 
ridicule  the  stories  we  had  heard  of  the  great 
numbers  of  these  vicious  marauders  that  were  sup- 

[4] 


ON  THE  ARIZONA  HILLS 

posed  to  haunt  the  trails,  taking  their  toll  in  lives 
and  torture  of  every  white  party  which  fell  into 
their  merciless  clutches. 

Powell,  I  knew,  was  well  armed  and,  further, 
an  experienced  Indian  fighter;  but  I  too  had  lived 
and  fought  for  years  among  the  Sioux  in  the 
North,  and  I  knew  that  his  chances  were  small 
against  a  party  of  cunning  trailing  Apaches. 
Finally  I  could  endure  the  suspense  no  longer,  and, 
arming  myself  with  my  two  Colt  revolvers  and  a 
carbine,  I  strapped  two  belts  of  cartridges  about 
me  and  catching  my  saddle  horse,  started  down  the 
trail  taken  by  Powell  in  the  morning. 

As  soon  as  I  reached  comparatively  level  ground 
I  urged  my  mount  into  a  canter  and  continued  this, 
where  the  going  permitted,  until,  close  upon  dusk, 
I  discovered  the  point  where  other  tracks  joined 
those  of  Powell.  They  were  the  tracks  of  unshod 
ponies,  three  of  them,  and  the  ponies  had  been 
galloping. 

I  followed  rapidly  until,  darkness  shutting  down, 
I  was  forced  to  await  the  rising  of  the  moon,  and 
given  an  opportunity  to  speculate  on  the  question 
of  the  wisdom  of  my  chase.  Possibly  I  had  con 
jured  up  impossible  dangers,  like  some  nervous 
old  housewife,  and  when  I  should  catch  up  with 

m 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


Powell  would  get  a  good  laugh  for  my  pains. 
However,  I  am  not  prone  to  sensitiveness,  and 
the  following  of  a  sense  of  duty,  wherever  it  may 
lead,  has  always  been  a  kind  of  fetich  with  me 
throughout  my  life;  which  may  account  for  the 
honors  bestowed  upon  me  by  three  republics  and 
the  decorations  and  friendships  of  an  old  and 
powerful  emperor  and  several  lesser  kings,  in 
whose  service  my  sword  has  been  red  many  a 
time. 

About  nine  o'clock  the  moon  was  sufficiently 
bright  for  me  to  proceed  on  my  way  and  I  had 
no  difficulty  in  following  the  trail  at  a  fast  walk, 
and  in  some  places  at  a  brisk  trot  until,  about  mid 
night,  I  reached  the  water  hole  where  Powell  had 
expected  to  camp.  I  came  upon  the  spot  unex 
pectedly,  finding  it  entirely  deserted,  with  no  signs 
of  having  been  recently  occupied  as  a  camp. 

I  was  interested  to  note  that  the  tracks  of  the 
pursuing  horsemen,  for  such  I  was  now  convinced 
they  must  be,  continued  after  Powell  with  only  a 
brief  stop  at  the  hole  for  water;  and  always  at  the 
same  rate  of  speed  as  his. 

I  was  positive  now  that  the  trailers  were 
Apaches  and  that  they  wished  to  capture  Powell 
alive  for  the  fiendish  pleasure  of  the  torture,  so  I 

[6] 


THE  ARIZONA  HILLS 


urged  my  horse  onward  at  a  most  dangerous  pace, 
hoping  against  hope  that  I  would  catch  up  with 
the  red  rascals  before  they  attacked  him. 

Further  speculation  was  suddenly  cut  short  by 
the  faint  report  of  two  shots  far  ahead  of  me.  I 
knew  that  Powell  would  need  me  now  if  ever, 
and  I  instantly  urged  my  horse  to  his  topmost 
speed  up  the  narrow  and  difficult  mountain  trail. 

I  had  forged  ahead  for  perhaps  a  mile  or  more 
without  hearing  further  sounds,  when  the  trail 
suddenly  debouched  onto  a  small,  open  plateau 
near  the  summit  of  the  pass.  I  had  passed  through 
a  narrow,  overhanging  gorge  just  before  entering 
suddenly  upon  this  table  land,  and  the  sight  which 
met  my  eyes  filled  me  with  consternation  and 
dismay. 

The  little  stretch  of  level  land  was  white  with 
Indian  tepees,  and  there  were  probably  half  a 
thousand  red  warriors  clustered  around  some 
object  near  the  center  of  the  camp.  Their  atten 
tion  was  so  wholly  riveted  to  this  point  of  interest 
that  they  did  not  notice  me,  and  I  easily  could  have 
turned  back  into  the  dark  recesses  of  the  gorge  and 
made  my  escape  with  perfect  safety.  The  fact, 
however,  that  this  thought  did  not  occur  to  me 
until  the  following  day  removes  any  possible  right 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


to  a  claim  to  heroism  to  which  the  narration  of 
this  episode  might  possibly  otherwise  entitle  me. 

I  do  not  believe  that  I  am  made  of  the  stuff 
which  constitutes  heroes,  because,  in  all  of  the 
hundreds  of  instances  that  my  voluntary  acts  have 
placed  me  face  to  face  with  death,  I  cannot  recall 
a  single  one  where  any  alternative  step  to  that  I 
took  occurred  to  me  until  many  hours  later.  My 
mind  is  evidently  so  constituted  that  I  am  sub 
consciously  forced  into  the  path  of  duty  without 
recourse  to  tiresome  mental  processes.  However 
that  may  be,  I  have  never  regretted  that  cowardice 
is  not  optional  with  me. 

In  this  instance  I  was,  of  course,  positive  that 
Powell  was  the  center  of  attraction,  but  whether 
I  thought  or  acted  first  I  do  not  know,  but  within 
an  instant  from  the  moment  the  scene  broke  upon 
my  view  I  had  whipped  out  my  revolvers  and  was 
charging  down  upon  the  entire  army  of  warriors, 
shooting  rapidly,  and  whooping  at  the  top  of  my 
lungs.  Single  handed,  I  could  not  have  pursued 
better  tactics,  for  the  red  men,  convinced  by  sudden 
surprise  that  not  less  than  a  regiment  of  regulars 
was  upon  them,  turned  and  fled  in  every  direction 
for  their  bows,  arrows,  and  rifles. 

The  view  which  their  hurried  routing  disclosed 
[8] 


ON  THE  ARIZONA  HILLS 

filled  me  with  apprehension  and  with  rage.  Under 
the  clear  rays  of  the  Arizona  moon  lay  Powell, 
his  body  fairly  bristling  with  the  hostile  arrows  of 
the  braves.  That  he  was  already  dead  I  could  not 
but  be  convinced,  and  yet  I  would  have  saved  his 
body  from  mutilation  at  the  hands  of  the  Apaches 
as  quickly  as  I  would  have  saved  the  man  himself 
from  death. 

Riding  close  to  him  I  reached  down  from  the 
saddle,  and  grasping  his  cartridge  belt  drew  him 
up  across  the  withers  of  my  mount.  A  backward 
glance  convinced  me  that  to  return  by  the  way  I 
had  come  would  be  more  hazardous  than  to  con 
tinue  across  the  plateau,  so,  putting  spurs  to  my 
poor  beast,  I  made  a  dash  for  the  opening  to  the 
pass  which  I  could  distinguish  on  the  far  side  of 
the  table  land. 

The  Indians  had  by  this  time  discovered  that  I 
was  alone  and  I  was  pursued  with  imprecations, 
arrows,  and  rifle  balls.  The  fact  that  it  is  difficult 
to  aim  anything  but  imprecations  accurately  by 
moonlight,  that  they  were  upset  by  the  sudden  and 
unexpected  manner  of  my  advent,  and  that  I  was  a 
rather  rapidly  moving  target  saved  me  from  the 
various  deadly  projectiles  of  the  enemy  and  per 
mitted  me  to  reach  the  shadows  of  the  surround- 

[9] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


ing  peaks  before  an  orderly  pursuit  could  be 
organized. 

My  horse  was  traveling  practically  unguided  as 
I  knew  that  I  had  probably  less  knowledge  of  the 
exact  location  of  the  trail  to  the  pass  than  he,  and 
thus  it  happened  that  he  entered  a  defile  which 
led  to  the  summit  of  the  range  and  not  to  the  pass 
which  I  had  hoped  would  carry  me  to  the  valley 
and  to  safety.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  to  this 
fact  I  owe  my  life  and  the  remarkable  experiences 
and  adventures  which  befell  me  during  the  follow 
ing  ten  years. 

My  first  knowledge  that  I  was  on  the  wrong 
trail  came  when  I  heard  the  yells  of  the  pursuing 
savages  suddenly  grow  fainter  and  fainter  far  off 
to  my  left. 

I  knew  then  that  they  had  passed  to  the  left  of 
the  jagged  rock  formation  at  the  edge  of  the 
plateau,  to  the  right  of  which  my  horse  had  borne 
me  and  the  body  of  Powell. 

I  drew  rein  on  a  little  level  promontory  over 
looking  the  trail  below  and  to  my  left,  and  saw 
the  party  of  pursuing  savages  disappearing  around 
the  point  of  a  neighboring  peak. 

I  knew  the  Indians  would  soon  discover  that 
they  were  on  the  wrong  trail  and  that  the  search 
[10] 


ON  THE  ARIZONA  HILLS 

foi  me  would  be  renewed  in  the  right  direction  as 
soon  as  they  located  my  tracks. 

I  had  gone  but  a  short  distance  further  when 
what  seemed  to  be  an  excellent  trail  opened  up 
around  the  face  of  a  high  cliff.  The  trail  was 
level  and  quite  broad  and  led  upward  and  in  the 
general  direction  I  wished  to  go.  The  cliff  arose 
for  several  hundred  feet  on  my  right,  and  on  my 
left  was  an  equal  and  nearly  perpendicular  drop 
te  the  bottom  of  a  rocky  ravine. 

I  had  followed  this  trail  for  perhaps  a  hundred 
yards  when  a  sharp  turn  to  the  right  brought  me 
to  the  mouth  of  a  large  cave.  The  opening  was 
about  four  feet  in  height  and  three  to  four  feet 
wide,  and  at  this  opening  the  trail  ended. 

It  was  now  morning,  and,  with  the  customary 
lack  of  dawn  which  is  a  startling  characteristic  of 
Arizona,  it  had  become  daylight  almost  without 
warning. 

Dismounting,  I  laid  Powell  upon  the  ground, 
but  the  most  painstaking  examination  failed  to 
reveal  the  faintest  spark  of  life.  I  forced  water 
from  my  canteen  between  his  dead  lips,  bathed  his 
face  and  rubbed  his  hands,  working  aver  him  con 
tinuously  for  the  better  part  of  an  hour  in  the  face 
of  the  fact  that  I  knew  him  to  be  dead, 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


I  was  very  fond  of  Powell;  he  was  thoroughly 
a  man  in  every  respect ;  a  polished  southern  gentle 
man  ;  a  staunch  and  true  friend ;  and  it  was  with  a 
feeling  of  the  deepest  grief  that  I  finally  gave  up 
my  crude  endeavors  at  resuscitation. 

Leaving  Powell's  body  where  it  lay  on  the  ledge 
I  crept  into  the  cave  to  reconnoiter.  I  found  a 
large  chamber,  possibly  a  hundred  feet  in  diam 
eter  and  thirty  or  forty  feet  in  height;  a  smooth 
and  well-worn  floor,  and  many  other  evidences  that 
the  cave  had,  at  some  remote  period,  been  in 
habited.  The  back  of  the  cave  was  so  lost  in  dense 
shadow  that  I  could  not  distinguish  whether  there 
were  openings  into  other  apartments  or  not. 

As  I  was  continuing  my  examination  I  com 
menced  to  feel  a  pleasant  drowsiness  creeping  over 
me  which  I  attributed  to  the  fatigue  of  my  long 
and  strenuous  ride,  and  the  reaction  from  the 
excitement  of  the  fight  and  the  pursuit.  I  felt 
comparatively  safe  in  my  present  location  as  I 
knew  that  one  man  could  defend  the  trail  to  the( 
cave  against  an  army. 

I  soon  became  so  drowsy  that  I  could  scarcely 

resist  the  strong  desire  to  throw  myself  on  the 

floor  of  the  cave  for  a  few  moments'  rest,  but  I 

knew  that  this  would  never  do,  as  it  would  mean 

[12] 


ON  THE  ARIZONA  HILLS 

certain  death  at  the  hands  of  my  red  friends,  who 
might  be  upon  me  at  any  moment.  With  an  effort 
I  started  toward  the  opening  of  the  cave  only  to 
reel  drunkenly  against  a  side  wall,  and  from  there 
slip  prone  upon  the  floor. 


CHAPTER  II 


A  SENSE  of  delicious  dreaminess  overcame 
me,  my  muscles  relaxed,  and  I  was  on  the 
point  of  giving  away  to  my  desire  to  sleep  when 
the  sound  of  approaching  horses  reached  my  ears. 
I  attempted  to  spring  to  my  feet  but  was  horrified 
to  discover  that  my  muscles  refused  to  respond 
to  my  will.  I  was  now  thoroughly  awake,  but  as 
unable  to  move  a  muscle  as  though  turned  to  stone. 
It  was  then,  for  the  first  time,  that  I  noticed  a 
slight  vapor  filling  the  cave.  It  was  extremely 
tenuous  and  only  noticeable  against  the  opening 
which  led  to  daylight.  There  also  came  to  my 
nostrils  a  faintly  pungent  odor,  and  I  could 
only  assume  that  I  had  been  overcome  by  some 
poisonous  gas,  but  why  I  should  retain  my  mental 
faculties  and  yet  be  unable  to  move  I  could  not 
fathom. 

I  lay  facing  the  opening  of  the  cave  and  where 
I  could  see  the  short  stretch  of  trail  which  lay 
between  the  cave  and  the  turn  of  the  cliff  around 

[14] 


which  the  trail  led.  The  noise  of  the  approaching 
horses  had  ceased,  and  I  judged  the  Indians  were 
creeping  stealthily  upon  me  along  the  little  ledge 
which  led  to  my  living  tomb.  I  remember  that 
I  hoped  they  would  make  short  work  of  me  as  I 
did  not  particularly  relish  the  thought  of  the 
innumerable  things  they  might  do  to  me  if  the 
spirit  prompted  them. 

I  had  not  long  to  wait  before  a  stealthy  sound 
apprised  me  of  their  nearness,  and  then  a  war- 
bonneted,  paint-streaked  face  was  thrust  cau 
tiously  around  the  shoulder  of  the  diffx  and  savage 
eyes  looked  into  mine.  That  he  could  see  me  in 
the  dim  light  of  the  cave  I  was  sure  for  the  early 
morning  sun  was  falling  full  upon  me  through  the 
opening. 

The  fellow,  instead  of  approaching,  merely 
stood  and  stared;  his  eyes  bulging  and  his  jaw 
dropped.  And  then  another  savage  face  appeared, 
and  a  third  and  fourth  and  fiftht  craning  their 
necks  over  the  shoulders  of  their  fellows  whom 
they  could  not  pass  upon  the  narrow  ledge.  Each 
face  was  the  picture  of  awe  and  fear,  but  for  what 
reason  I  did  not  know,  nor  did  I  learn  until  ten 
years  later.  That  there  were  still  other  braves 
behind  those  who  regarded  me  was  apparent  from 

[15] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


the  fact  that  the  leaders  passed  back  whispered 
word  to  those  behind  them. 

Suddenly  a  low  but  distinct  moaning  sound 
issued  from  the  recesses  of  the  cave  behind  me, 
and,  as  it  reached  the  ears  of  the  Indians,  they 
turned  and  fled  in  terror,  panic  stricken.  So  frantic 
were  their  efforts  to  escape  from  the  unseen  thing 
behind  me  that  one  of  the  braves  was  hurled  head 
long  from  the  cliff  to  the  rocks  below.  Their  wild 
cries  echoed  in  the  canyon  for  a  short  time,  and 
then  all  was  still  once  more. 

The  sound  which  had  frightened  them  was  not 
repeated,  but  it  had  been  sufficient  as  it  was  to 
start  me  speculating  on  the  possible  horror  which 
lurked  in  the  shadows  at  my  back.  Fear  is  a  rela 
tive  term  and  so  I  can  only  measure  my  feelings 
at  that  time  by  what  I  had  experienced  in  previous 
positions  of  danger  and  by  those  I  have  passed 
through  since;  but  I  can  say  without  shame  that  if 
the  sensations  I  endured  during  the  next  few 
minutes  were  fear,  then  may  God  help  the  coward, 
for  cowardice  is  of  a  surety  its  own  punishment. 

To  be  held  paralyzed,  with  one's  back  toward 
some  horrible  and  unknown  danger  from  the  very 
sound  of  which  the  ferocious  Apache  warriors 
turn  in  wild  stampede,  as  a  flock  of  sheep  would 


THE  ESCAPE  OF  THE  DEAD 

madly  flee  from  a  pack  of  wolves,  seems  to  me  the 
last  word  in  fearsome  predicaments  for  a  man  who 
had  ever  been  used  to  fighting  for  his  life  with  all 
the  energy  of  a  powerful  physique. 

Several  times  I  thought  I  heard  faint  sounds 
behind  me  as  of  some  body  moving  cautiously,  but 
eventually  even  these  ceased,  and  I  was  left  to  the 
contemplation  of  my  position  without  interruption. 
I  could  but  vaguely  conjecture  the  cause  of  my 
paralysis,  and  my  only  hope  lay  in  that  it  might 
pass  off  as  suddenly  as  it  had  fallen  upon  me. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  my  horse,  which  had  been 
standing  with  dragging  rein  before  the  cave, 
started  slowly  down  the  trail,  evidently  in  search 
of  food  and  water,  and  I  was  left  alone  with  my 
mysterious  unknown  companion  and  the  dead  body 
of  my  friend,  which  lay  just  within  my  range  of 
vision  upon  the  ledge  where  I  had  placed  it  in  the 
early  morning. 

From  then  until  possibly  midnight  all  was 
silence,  the  silence  of  the  dead;  then,  suddenly, 
the  awful  moan  of  the  morning  broke  upon  my 
startled  ears,  and  there  came  again  from  the  black 
shadows  the  sound  of  a  moving  thing,  and  a  faint 
rustling  as  of  dead  leaves.  The  shock  to  my 
already  overstrained  nervous  system  was  terrible 

[17] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


in  the  extreme,  and  with  a  superhuman  effort  I 
strove  to  break  my  awful  bonds.  It  was  an  effort 
of  the  mind,  of  the  will,  of  the  nerves;  not  mus 
cular,  for  I  could  not  move  even  so  much  as  my 
little  finger,  but  none  the  less  mighty  for  all  that. 
And  then  something  gave,  there  was  a  momentary 
feeling  of  nausea,  a  sharp  click  as  of  the  snapping 
of  a  steel  wire,  and  I  stood  with  my  back  against 
the  wall  of  the  cave  facing  my  unknown  foe. 

And  then  the  moonlight  flooded  the  cave,  and 
there  before  me  lay  my  own  body  as  it  had  been 
lying  all  these  hours,  with  the  eyes  staring  toward 
the  open  ledge  and  the  hands  resting  limply  upon 
the  ground.  I  looked  first  at  my  lifeless  clay 
there  upon  the  floor  of  the  cave  and  then  down 
at  myself  in  utter  bewilderment;  for  there  I  lay 
clothed,  and  yet  here  I  stood  but  naked  as  at  the 
minute  of  my  birth. 

The  transition  had  been  so  sudden  and  so  unex 
pected  that  it  left  me  for  a  moment  forgetful  of 
aught  else  than  my  strange  metamorphosis.  My 
first  thought  was,  is  this  then  death!  Have  I 
indeed  passed  over  forever  into  that  other  life! 
But  I  could  not  well  believe  this,  as  I  could  'feel 
my  heart  pounding  against  my  ribs  from  the  exer 
tion  of  my  efforts  to  release  myself  from  the 


THE  ESCAPE  OF  THE  DEAD 

anaesthesis  which  had  held  me.  My  breath  was 
coming  in  quick,  short  gasps,  cold  sweat  stood  out 
from  every  pore  of  my  body,  and  the  ancient 
experiment  of  pinching  revealed  the  fact  that  I 
was  anything  other  than  a  wraith. 

Again  was  I  suddenly  recalled  to  my  imme 
diate  surroundings  by  a  repetition  of  the  weird 
moan  from  the  depths  of  the  cave.  Naked  and 
unarmed  as  I  was,  I  had  no  desire  to  face  the 
unseen  thing  which  menaced  me. 

My  revolvers  were  strapped  to  my  lifeless  body 
which,  for  some  unfathomable  reason,  I  could  not 
bring  myself  to  touch.  My  carbine  was  in  its  boot, 
strapped  to  my  saddle,  and  as  my  horse  had  wan 
dered  off  I  was  left  without  means  of  defense. 
My  only  alternative  seemed  to  lie  in  flight  and  my 
decision  was  crystallized  by  a  recurrence  of  the 
rustling  sound  from  the  thing  which  now  seemed, 
in  the  darkness  of  the  cave  and  to  my  distorted 
imagination,  to  be  creeping  stealthily  upon  me. 

Unable  longer  to  resist  the  temptation  to  escape 
this  horrible  place  I  leaped  quickly  through  the 
opening  into  the  starlight  of  a  clear  Arizona  night. 
The  crisp,  fresh  mountain  air  outside  the  cave 
acted  as  an  immediate  tonic  and  I  felt  new  life  and 
new  courage  coursing  through  me.  Pausing  upon 

[19] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


the  brink  of  the  ledge  I  upbraided  myself  for  what 
now  seemed  to  me  wholly  unwarranted  apprehen 
sion.  I  reasoned  with  myself  that  I  had  lain 
helpless  for  many  hours  within  the  cave,  yet  noth 
ing  had  molested  me,  and  my  better  judgment, 
when  permitted  the  direction  of  clear  and  logical 
reasoning,  convinced  me  that  the  noises  I  had 
heard  must  have  resulted  from  purely  natural  and 
harmless  causes;  probably  the  conformation  of 
the  cave  was  such  that  a  slight  breeze  had  caused 
the  sounds  I  heard. 

I  decided  to  investigate,  but  first  I  lifted  my 
head  to  fill  my  lungs  with  the  pure,  invigorating 
night  air  of  the  mountains.  As  I  did  so  I  saw 
stretching  far  below  me  the  beautiful  vista  of  rocky 
gorge,  and  level,  cacti-studded  flat,  wrought  by  the 
moonlight  into  a  miracle  of  soft  splendor  and 
wondrous  enchantment. 

Few  western  wonders  are  more  inspiring 
than  the  beauties  of  an  Arizona  moonlit  land 
scape;  the  silvered  mountains  in  the  distance,  the 
strange  lights  and  shadows  upon  hog  back  and 
arroyo,  and  the  grotesque  details  of  the  stiff,  yet 
beautiful  cacti  form  a  picture  at  once  enchanting 
and  inspiring;  as  though  one  were  catching  for  the 
first  time  a  glimpse  of  some  dead  and  forgotten 

[20] 


THE  ESCAPE  OF  THE  DEAD 

world,  so  different  is  it  from  the  aspect  of  any 
other  spot  upon  our  earth. 

As  I  stood  thus  meditating,  I  turned  my  gaze 
from  the  landscape  to  the  heavens  where  the 
myriad  stars  formed  a  gorgeous  and  fitting 
canopy  for  the  wonders  of  the  earthly  scene.  My 
attention  was  quickly  riveted  by  a  large  red  star 
close  to  the  distant  horizon.  As  I  gazed  upon  it 
I  felt  a  spell  of  overpowering  fascination  —  it  was 
Mars,  the  god  of  war,  and  for  me,  the  fighting 
man,  it  had  always  held  the  power  of  irresistible 
enchantment.  As  I  gazed  at  it  on  that  far-gone 
night  it  seemed  to  call  across  the  unthinkable  void, 
to  lure  me  to  it,  to  draw  me  as  the  lodestone 
attracts  a  particle  of  iron. 

My  longing  was  beyond  the  power  of  opposi 
tion;  I  closed  my  eyes,  stretched  out  my  arms 
toward  the  god  of  my  vocation  and  felt  myself 
drawn  with  the  suddenness  of  thought  through  the 
trackless  immensity  of  space.  There  was  an 
instant  of  extreme  cold  and  utter  darkness. 


[21] 


CHAPTER  III 

MY  ADVENT  ON  MARS 

I  OPENED  my  eyes  upon  a  strange  and  weird 
landscape.  I  knew  that  I  was  on  Mars;  not 
once  did  I  question  either  my  sanity  or  my  wake- 
fulness.  I  was  not  asleep,  no  need  for  pinching 
here;  my  inner  consciousness  told  me  as  plainly 
that  I  was  upon  Mars  as  your  conscious  mind  tells 
you  that  you  are  upon  Earth.  You  do  not  question 
the  fact;  neither  did  I. 

I  found  myself  lying  prone  upon  a  bed  of  yel 
lowish,  moss-like  vegetation  which  stretched 
around  me  in  all  directions  for  interminable  miles. 
I  seemed  to  be  lying  in  a  deep,  circular  basin, 
along  the  outer  verge  of  which  I  could  distinguish 
the  irregularities  of  low  hills. 

It  was  midday,  the  sun  was  shining  full  upon 
me  and  the  heat  of  it  was  rather  intense  upon  my 
naked  body,  yet  no  greater  than  would  have  been 
true  under  similar  conditions  on  an  Arizona  desert. 
Here  and  there  were  slight  outcroppings  of  quartz- 
bearing  rock  which  glistened  in  the  sunlight;  and 
[22] 


MY  ADVENT,  ON  MARS 


a  little  to  my  left,  perhaps  a  hundred  yards, 
appeared  a  low,  walled  enclosure  about  four  feet 
in  height.  No  water,  and  no  other  vegetation  than 
the  moss  was  in  evidence,  and  as  I  was  somewhat 
thirsty  I  determined  to  do  a  little  exploring. 

Springing  to  my  feet  I  received  my  first  Martian 
surprise,  for  the  effort,  which  on  Earth  would  have 
brought  me  standing  upright,  carried  me  into  the 
Martian  air  to  the  height  of  about  three  yards. 
I  alighted  softly  upon  the  ground,  however,  with 
out  appreciable  shock  or  jar.  Now  commenced  a 
series  of  evolutions  which  even  then  seemed 
ludicrous  in  the  extreme.  I  found  that  I  must 
learn  to  walk  all  over  again,  as  the  muscular  exer 
tion  which  carried  me  easily  and  safely  upon  Earth 
played  strange  antics  with  me  upon  Mars. 

Instead  of  progressing  in  a  sane  and  dignified 
manner,  my  attempts  to  walk  resulted  in  a  variety 
of  hops  whkh  took  me  clear  of  the  ground  a 
couple  of  feet  at  each  step  and  landed  me  sprawling 
upon  my  face  or  back  at  the  end  of  each  second 
or  third  hop.  My  muscles,  perfectly  attuned  and 
accustomed  to  the  force  of  gravity  on  Earth, 
played  the  mischief  with  me  in  attempting  for  the 
first  time  to  cope  with  the  lesser  gravitation  and 
lower  air  pressure  on  Mars. 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


I  was  determined,  however,  to  explore  the  low 
structure  which  was  the  only  evidence  of  habitation 
in  sight,  and  so  I  hit  upon  the  unique  plan  of 
reverting  to  first  principles  in  locomotion,  creep 
ing.  I  did  fairly  well  at  this  and  in  a  few  moments 
had  reached  the  low,  encircling  wall  of  the  en 
closure. 

There  appeared  to  be  no  doors  or  windows  upon 
the  side  nearest  me,  but  as  the  wall  was  but  about 
four  feet  high  I  cautiously  gained  my  feet  and 
peered  over  the  top  upon  the  strangest  sight  it  had 
ever  been  given  me  to  see. 

The  roof  of  the  enclosure  was  of  solid  glass 
about  four  or  five  inches  in  thickness,  and  beneath 
this  were  several  hundred  large  eggs,  perfectly 
round  and  snowy  white.  The  eggs  were  nearly 
uniform  in  size  being  about  two  and  one-half  feet 
in  diameter. 

Five  or  six  had  already  hatched  and  the  gro 
tesque  caricatures  which  sat  blinking  in  the  sun 
light  were  enough  to  cause  me  to  doubt  my  sanity. 
They  seemed  mostly  head,  with  little  scrawny 
bodies,  long  necks  and  six  legs,  or,  as  I  afterward 
learned,  two  legs  and  two  arms,  with  an  inter 
mediary  pair  of  limbs  which  could  be  used  at  will 
either  as  arms  or  legs.  Their  eyes  were  set  at  the 

[24] 


MY  ADVENT  ON  MARS 


extreme  sides  of  their  heads  a  trifle  above  the 
center  and  protruded  in  such  a  manner  that  they 
could  be  directed  either  forward  or  back  and  also 
independently  of  each  other,  thus  permitting  this 
queer  animal  to  look  in  any  direction,  or  in  two 
directions  at  once,  without  the  necessity  of  turning 
the  head. 

The  ears,  which  were  slightly  above  the  eyes 
and  closer  together,  were  small,  cup-shaped 
antennae,  protruding  not  more  than  an  inch  on 
these  young  specimens.  Their  noses  were  but 
longitudinal  slits  in  the  center  of  their  faces,  mid 
way  between  their  mouths  and  ears. 

There  was  no  hair  on  their  bodies,  which  were 
of  a  very  light  yellowish-green  color.  In  the 
adults,  as  I  was  to  learn  quite  soon,  this  color 
deepens  to  an  olive  green  and  is  darker  in  the 
male  than  in  the  female.  Further,  the  heads  of 
the  adults  are  not  so  out  of  proportion  to  their 
bodies  as  in  the  case  of  the  young. 

The  iris  of  the  eyes  is  blood  red,  as  in  Albinos, 
while  the  pupil  is  dark.  The  eyeball  itself  is  very 
white,  as  are  the  teeth.  These  latter  add  a  most 
ferocious  appearance  to  an  otherwise  fearsome 
and  terrible  countenance,  as  the  lower  tusks  curve 
upward  to  sharp  points  which  end  about  where 
[25] 


'A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


the  eyes  of  earthly  human  beings  are  located.  The 
whiteness  of  the  teeth  is  not  that  of  ivory,  but 
of  the  snowiest  and  most  gleaming  of  china. 
Against  the  dark  background  of  their  olive  skins 
their  tusks  stand  out  in  a  most  striking  manner, 
making  these  weapons  present  a  singularly  for 
midable  appearance. 

Most  of  these  details  I  noted  later,  for  I  was 
given  but  little  time  to  speculate  on  the  wonders 
of  my  new  discovery.  I  had  seen  that  the  eggs 
were  in  the  process  of  hatching,  and  as  I  stood 
watching  the  hideous  little  monsters  break  from 
their  shells  I  failed  to  note  the  approach  of  a  score 
of  full-grown  Martians  from  behind  me. 

Coming,  as  they  did,  over  the  soft  and  soundless 
moss,  which  covers  practically  the  entire  surface 
of  Mars  with  the  exception  of  the  frozen  areas 
at  the  poles  and  the  scattered  cultivated  districts, 
they  might  have  captured  me  easily,  but  their 
intentions  were  far  more  sinister.  It  was  the  rat 
tling  of  the  accoutermcnts  of  the  foremost  warrior 
which  warned  me. 

On  such  a  little  thing  my  life  hung  that  I  often 
marvel  that  I  escaped  so  easily.  Had  not  the 
rifle  of  the  leader  of  the  party  swung  from  its 
fastenings  beside  his  saddle  in  such  a  way  as  to 

[26] 


MY  ADVENT  ON  MARS 


strike  against  the  butt  of  his  great  metal  shod 
spear  I  should  have  snuffed  out  without  ever  know 
ing  that  death  was  near  me.  But  the  little  sound 
caused  me  to  turn,  and  there  upon  me,  not  ten 
feet  from  my  breast,  was  the  point  of  that  huge 
spear,  a  spear  forty  feet  long,  tipped  v/ith  gleam 
ing  metal,  and  held  low  at  the  side  of  a  mounted 
replica  of  the  little  devils  I  had  been  watching. 

But  how  puny  and  harmless  they  now  looked 
beside  this  huge  and  terrific  incarnation  of  hate  of 
vengeance  and  of  death.  The  man  himself,  for 
such  I  may  call  him,  was  fully  fifteen  feet  in  height 
and,  on  earth,  would  have  weighed  some  four- 
hundred  pounds.  He  sat  his  mount  as  we  sit  a 
horse,  grasping  the  animal's  barrel  with  his  lower 
limbs,  while  the  hands  of  his  two  right  arms  held 
his  immense  spear  low  at  the  side  of  his  mount; 
his  two  left  arms  were  outstretched  laterally  to 
help  preserve  his  balance,  the  thing  he  rode  having 
neither  bridle  or  reins  of  any  description  for 
guidance. 

And  his  mount!  How  can  earthly  words  de 
scribe  it!  It  towered  ten  feet  at  the  shoulder; 
had  four  legs  on  either  side;  a  broad  flat  tail, 
larger  at  the  tip  than  at  the  root,  and  which  it 
held  straight  out  behind  while  running;  a  gaping 

[27] 


'A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


mouth  which  split  its  head  from  its  snout  to  its 
long,  massive  neck'. 

Like  its  master,  it  was  entirely  devoid  of  hair, 
but  was  of  a  dark  slate  color  and  exceeding  smooth 
and  glossy.  Its  belly  was  white,  and  its  legs  shaded 
from  the  slate  of  its  shoulders  and  hips  to  a  vivid 
yellow  at  the  feet.  The  feet  themselves  were 
heavily  padded  and  nailless,  which  fact  had  also 
contributed  to  the  noiselessness  of  their  approach, 
and,  in  common  with  a  multiplicity  of  legs,  is  a 
characteristic  feature  of  the  fauna  of  Mars.  The 
highest  type  of  man  and  one  other  animal,  the 
only  mammal  existing  on  Mars,  alone  have  well- 
formed  nails,  and  there  are  absolutely  no  hoofed 
animals  in  existence  there. 

Behind  this  first  charging  demon  trailed  nine 
teen  others,  similar  in  all  respects,  but,  as  I  learned 
later,  bearing  individual  characteristics  peculiar  to 
themselves;  precisely  as  no  two  of  us  are  identical 
although  we  are  all  cast  in  a  similar  mold.  This 
picture,  or  rather  materialized  nightmare,  which 
I  have  described  at  length,  made  but  one  terrible 
and  swift  impression  on  me  as  I  turned  to  meet  it. 

Unarmed  and  naked  as  I  was,  the  first  law  of 
nature  manifested  itself  in  the  only  possible  solu 
tion  of  my  immediate  problem,  and  that  was  to 

[28] 


MY  ADVENT  ON  MARS 


get  out  of  the  vicinity  of  the  point  of  the  charging 
spear.  Consequently  I  gave  a  very  earthly  and  at 
the  same  time  superhuman  leap  to  reach  the  top 
of  the  Martian  incubator,  for  such  I  had  deter 
mined  it  must  be. 

My  effort  was  crowned  with  a  success  which 
appalled  me  no  less  than  it  seemed  to  surprise  the 
Martian  warriors,  for  it  carried  me  fully  thirty 
feet  into  the  air  and  landed  me  a  hundred  feet 
from  my  pursuers  and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
enclosure. 

I  alighted  upon  the  soft  moss  easily  and  with 
out  mishap,  and  turning  saw  my  enemies  lined  up 
along  the  further  wall.  Some  were  surveying  me 
with  expressions  which  I  afterward  discovered 
marked  extreme  astonishment,  and  the  others  were 
evidently  satisfying  themselves  that  I  had  not 
molested  their  young. 

They  were  conversing  together  in  low  tones, 
and  gesticulating  and  pointing  toward  me.  Their 
discovery  that  I  had  not  harmed  the  little  Mar 
tians,  and  that  I  was  unarmed,  must  have  caused 
them  to  look  upon  me  with  less  ferocity;  but,  as 
I  was  to  learn  later,  the  thing  which  weighed  most 
in  my  favor  was  my  exhibition  of  hurdling. 

While  the  Martians  are  immense,  their  bones 

[29] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


are  very  large  and  they  are  muscled  only  in  pro 
portion  to  the  gravitation  which  they  must  over 
come.  The  result  is  that  they  are  infinitely  less 
agile  and  less  powerful,  in  proportion  to  their 
weight,  than  an  Earth  man,  and  I  doubt  that  were 
one  of  them  suddenly  to  be  transported  to  Earth 
he  could  lift  his  own  weight  from  the  ground;  in 
fact,  I  am  convinced  that  he  could  not  do  so. 

My  feat  then  was  as  marvelous  upon  Mars  as 
it  would  have  been  upon  Earth,  and  from  desiring 
to  annihilate  me  they  suddenly  looked  upon  me  as 
a  wonderful  discovery  to  be  captured  and  exhibited 
among  their  fellows. 

The  respite  my  unexpected  agility  had  given  me 
permitted  me  to  formulate  plans  for  the  immediate 
future  and  to  note  more  closely  the  appearance 
of  the  warriors,  for  I  could  not  disassociate  these 
people  in  my  mind  from  those  other  warriors  who, 
only  the  day  before,  had  been  pursuing  me. 

I  noted  that  each  was  armed  with  several  other 
weapons  in  addition  to  the  huge  spear  which  I 
have  described.  The  weapon  which  caused  me  to 
decide  against  an  attempt  at  escape  by  flight  was 
what  was  evidently  a  rifle  of  some  description, 
and  which  I  felt,  for  some  reason,  they  were  pe 
culiarly  efficient  in  handling. 

[30] 


MY  ADVENT  ON  MARS 


These  rifles  were  of  a  white  metal  stocked  with 
wood,  which  I  learned  later  was  a  very  light  and 
intensely  hard  growth  much  prized  on  Mars,  and 
entirely  unknown  to  us  denizens  of  Earth.  The 
metal  of  the  barrel  is  an  alloy  composed  principally 
of  aluminum  and  steel  which  they  have  learned  to 
temper  to  a  hardness  far  exceeding  that  of  the 
steel  with  which  we  are  familiar.  The  weight  of 
these  rifles  is  comparatively  little,  and  with  the 
small  caliber,  explosive,  radium  projectiles  which 
they  use,  and  the  great  length  of  the  barrel,  they 
are  deadly  in  the  extreme  and  at  ranges  which 
would  be  unthinkable  on  Earth.  The  theoretic 
effective  radius  of  this  rifle  is  three  hundred  miles, 
but  the  best  they  can  do  in  actual  service  when 
equipped  with  their  wireless  finders  and  sighters 
is  but  a  trifle  over  two  hundred  miles. 

This  is  quite  far  enough  to  imbue  me  with  great 
respect  for  the  Martian  firearm,  and  some  tele 
pathic  force  must  have  warned  me  against  an 
attempt  to  escape  in  broad  daylight  from  under 
the  muzzles  of  twenty  of  these  death-dealing 
machines. 

The  Martians,  after  conversing  for  a  short 
time,  turned  and  rode  away  in  the  direction  from 
which  they  had  come,  leaving  one  of  their  number 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


alone  by  the  enclosure.  When  they  had  covered 
perhaps  two  hundred  yards  they  halted,  and  turn 
ing  their  mounts  toward  us  sat  watching  the  war 
rior  by  the  enclosure. 

He  was  tke  one  whose  spear  had  so  nearly 
transfixed  me,  and  was  evidently  the  leader  of 
the  band,  as  I  had  noted  that  they  seemed  to 
have  moved  to  their  present  position  at  his  direc 
tion.  When  his  force  had  come  to  a  halt  he  dis 
mounted,  threw  down  his  spear  and  small  arms, 
and  came  around  the  end  of  the  incubator  toward 
me,  entirely  unarmed  and  as  naked  as  I,  except 
for  the  ornaments  strapped  upon  his  head,  limbs, 
and  breast. 

When  he  was  within  about  fifty  feet  of  me  he 
unclasped  an  enormous  metal  armlet,  and  holding 
it  toward  me  in  the  open  palm  of  his  hand, 
addressed  me  in  a  clear,  resonant  voice,  but  in  a 
language,  it  is  needless  to  say,  I  could  not  under 
stand.  He  then  stopped  as  though  waiting  for 
my  reply,  pricking  up  his  antennae-like  ears  and 
cocking  his  strange  looking  eyes  still  further 
toward  me. 

As  the  silence  became  painful  I  concluded  to 
hazard  a  little  conversation  on  my  own  part,  as  I 
had  guessed  that  he  was  making  overtures  of  peace. 

[32] 


MY  ADFENT  ON  MARS 


The  throwing  down  of  his  weapons  and  the  with 
drawing  of  his  troop  before  his  advance  toward 
me  would  have  signified  a  peaceful  mission  any 
where  on  Earth,  so  why  not,  then,  on  Mars ! 

Placing  my  hand  over  my  heart  I  bowed  low 
to  the  Martian  and  explained  to  him  that  while 
I  did  not  understand  his  language,  his  actions 
spoke  for  the  peace  and  friendship  that  at  the 
present  moment  were  most  dear  to  my  heart. 
Of  course  I  might  have  been  a  babbling  brook 
for  all  the  intelligence  my  speech  carried  to  him, 
but  he  understood  the  action  with  which  I  imme 
diately  followed  my  words. 

Stretching  my  hand  toward  him,  I  advanced 
and  took  the  armlet  from  his  open  palm,  clasping 
it  about  my  arm  above  the  elbow;  smiled  at  him 
and  stood  waiting.  His  wide  mouth  spread  into 
an  answering  smile,  and  locking  one  of  his  inter 
mediary  arms  in  mine  we  turned  and  walked  back 
toward  his  mount.  At  the  same  time  he  motioned 
his  followers  to  advance.  They  started  toward  us 
on  a  wild  run,  but  were  checked  by  a  signal  from 
him.  Evidently  he  feared  that  were  I  to  be  really 
frightened  again  I  might  jump  entirely  out  of 
the  landscape. 

He    exchanged   a    few   words   with   his   men, 

[33] 


motioned  to  me  that  I  would  ride  behind  one  of 
them,  and  then  mounted  his  own  animal.  The 
fellow  designated  reached  down  two  or  three 
hands  and  lifted  me  up  behind  him  on  the  glossy 
back  of  his  mount,  where  I  hung  on  as  best  I 
could  by  the  belts  and  straps  which  held  the 
Martian's  weapons  and  ornaments. 

The  entire  cavalcade  then  turned  and  galloped 
away  toward  the  range  of  hills  in  the  distance. 


1341 


CHAPTER  IV 

A  PRISONER 

WE  had  gone  perhaps  ten  miles  when  the 
ground  began  to  rise  very  rapidly.  We 
were,  as  I  was  later  to  learn,  nearing  the  edge 
of  one  of  Mars'  long  dead  seas,  in  the  bottom 
of  which  my  encounter  with  the  Martians  had 
taken  place. 

In  a  short  time  we  gained  the  foot  of  the  moun 
tains,  and  after  traversing  a  narrow  gorge  came 
to  an  open  valley,  at  the  far  extremity  of  which 
was  a  low  tableland  upon  which  I  beheld  an  enor 
mous  city.  Toward  this  we  galloped,  entering  it 
by  what  appeared  to  be  a  ruined  roadway  leading 
out  from  the  city,  but  only  to  the  edge  of  the  table 
land,  where  it  ended  abruptly  in  a  flight  of  broad 
steps. 

Upon  closer  observation  I  saw  as  we  passed 
them  that  the  buildings  were  deserted,  and  while 
not  greatly  decayed  had  the  appearance  of  not 
having  been  tenanted  for  years,  possibly  for  ages. 
Toward  the  center  of  the  city  was  a  large  plaza, 

[35] ' 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


and  upon  this  and  in  the  buildings  immediately 
surrounding  it  were  camped  some  nine  or  ten 
hundred  creatures  of  the  same  breed  as  my  cap 
tors,  for  such  I  now  considered  them  despite  the 
suave  manner  in  which  I  had  been  trapped. 

With  the  exception  of  their  ornaments  all  were 
naked.  The  women  varied  in  appearance  but 
little  from  the  men,  except  that  their  tusks  were 
much  larger  in  proportion  to  their  height,  in  some 
instances  curving  nearly  to  their  high-set  ears. 
Their  bodies  were  smaller  and  lighter  in  color, 
and  their  fingers  and  toes  bore  the  rudiments  of 
nails,  which  were  entirely  lacking  among  the 
males.  The  adult  females  ranged  in  height  from 
ten  to  twelve  feet. 

The  children  were  light  in  color,  even  lighter 
than  the  women,  and  all  looked  precisely  alike  to 
me,  except  that  some  were  taller  than  others ;  older, 
I  presumed. 

I  saw  no  signs  of  extreme  age  among  them, 
nor  is  there  any  appreciable  difference  in  their 
appearance  from  the  age  of  maturity,  about 
forty,  until,  at  about  the  age  of  one  thousand 
years,  they  go  voluntarily  upon  their  last  strange 
pilgrimage  down  the  river  Iss,  which  leads  no 
living  Martian  knows  whither  and  from  whose 

[36] 


A  PRISONER 


bosom  no  Martian  has  ever  returned,  or  would 
be  allowed  to  live  did  he  return  after  once  embark 
ing  upon  its  cold,  dark  waters. 

Only  about  one  Martian  in  a  thousand  dies  of 
sickness  or  disease,  and  possibly  about  twenty  take 
the  voluntary  pilgrimage.  The  other  nine  hun 
dred  and  seventy-nine  die  violent  deaths  in  duels 
in  hunting  in  aviation  and  in  war;  but  perhaps 
by  far  the  greatest  death  loss  .comes  during  the 
age  of  childhood,  when  vast  numbers  of  the  little 
Martians  fall  victims  to  the  great  white  apes  of 
Mars. 

The  average  life  expectancy  of  a  Martian  after 
the  age  of  maturity  is  about  three  hundred  years, 
but  would  be  nearer  the  one-thousand  mark  were 
it  not  for  the  various  means  leading  to  violent 
death.  Owing  to  the  waning  resources  of  the 
planet  it  evidently  became  necessary  to  counteract 
the  increasing  longevity  which  their  remarkable 
skill  in  therapeutics  and  surgery  produced,  and  so 
human  life  has  come  to  be  considered  but  lightly 
on  Mars,  as  is  evidenced  by  their  dangerous  sports 
and  the  almost  continual  warfare  between^  the 
various  communities. 

There  are  other  and  natural  causes  tending 
toward  a  diminution  of  population,  but  nothing 

[37] 


rA  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


contributes  so  greatly  to  this  end  as  the  fact  that 
no  male  or  female  Martian  is  ever  voluntarily 
without  a  weapon  of  destruction. 

As  we  neared  the  plaza  and  my  presence  was 
discovered  we  were  immediately  surrounded  by 
hundreds  of  the  creatures  who  seemed  anxious  to 
pluck  me  from  my  seat  behind  my  guard.  A  word 
from  the  leader  of  the  party  stilled  their  clamor, 
and  we  proceeded  at  a  trot  across  the  plaza  to 
the  entrance  of  as  magnificent  an  edifice  as  mortal 
eye  has  rested  upon. 

The  building  was  low,  but  covered  an  enormous 
area.  It  was  constructed  of  gleaming  white 
marble  inlaid  with  gold  and  brilliant  stones  which 
sparkled  and  scintillated  in  the  sunlight.  The 
main  entrance  was  some  hundred  feet  in  width 
and  projected  from  the  building  proper  to  form 
a  huge  canopy  above  the  entrance  hall.  There, 
was  no  stairway,  but  a  gentle  incline  to  the  first 
floor  of  the  building  opened  into  an  enormous 
chamber  encircled  by  galleries. 

On  the  floor  of  this  chamber,  which  was  dotted 
with  highly  carved  wooden  desks  and  chairs,  were 
assembled  about  forty  or  fifty  mj»le  Martians 
around  the  steps  of  a  rostrum.  On  the  platform 
proper  squatted  an  enormous  warrior  heavily 

[38] 


'A  PRISONER 


loaded  with  metal  ornaments,  gay-colored  feathers 
and  beautifully  wrought  leather  trappings  ingen 
iously  set  with  precious  stones.  From  his  shoul 
ders  depended  a  short  cape  of  white  fur  lined 
with  brilliant  scarlet  silk. 

What  struck  me  as  most  remarkable  about  this 
assemblage  and  the  hall  in  which  they  were  con 
gregated  was  the  fact  that  the  creatures  were 
entirely  out  of  proportion  to  the  desks,  chairs, 
and  other  furnishings;  these  being  of  a  size 
adapted  to  human  beings  such  as  I,  whereas  the 
great  bulks  of  the  Martians  could  scarcely  have 
squeezed  into  the  chairs,  nor  was  there  room 
beneath  the  desks  for  their  long  legs.  Evidently, 
then,  there  were  other  denizens  on  Mars  than 
the  wild  and  grotesque  creatures  into  whose  hands 
I  had  fallen,  but  the  evidences  of  extreme  antiquity 
which  showed  all  around  me  indicated  that  these 
buildings  might  have  belonged  to  some  long  extinct 
and  forgotten  race  in  the  dim  antiquity  of  Mars. 

Our  party  had  halted  at  the  entrance  to  the 
building,  and  at  a  sign  from  the  leader  I  had 
been  lowered  to  the  ground.  Again  locking  his 
arm  in  mine,  we  had  proceeded  into  the  audience 
chamber.  There  were  few  formalities  observed 
in  approaching  the  Martian  chieftain.  My  captor 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


merely  strode  up  to  the  rostrum,  the  others  mak 
ing  way  for  him  as  he  advanced.  The  chieftain 
rose  to  his  feet  and  uttered  the  name  of  my  escort 
who,  in  turn,  halted  and  repeated  the  name  of 
the  ruler  followed  by  his  title. 

At  the  time,  this  ceremony  and  the  words  they 
uttered  meant  nothing  to  me,  but  later  I  came  to 
know  that  this  was  the  customary  greeting  between 
green  Martians.  Had  the  men  been  strangers, 
and  therefore  unable  to  exchange  names,  they 
would  have  silently  exchanged  ornaments,  had 
their  missions  been  peaceful  —  otherwise  they 
would  have  exchanged  shots,  or  have  fought  out 
their  introduction  with  some  other  of  their  various 
weapons. 

My  captor,  whose  name  was  Tars  Tarkas,  was 
virtually  the  vice-chieftain  of  the  community,  and 
a  man  of  great  ability  as  a  statesman  and  warrior. 
He  evidently  explained  briefly  the  incidents  con- 
f  nected  with  his  expedition,  including  my  capture, 
and  when  he  had  concluded  the  chieftain  addressed 
me  at  some  length. 

I  replied  in  our  good  old  English  tongue  merely 
to  convince  him  that  neither  of  us  could  understand 
the  other;  but  I  noticed  that  when  I  smiled  slightly 
on  concluding,  he  did  likewise.  This  fact,  and 

[40] 


the  similar  occurrence  during  my  first  talk  with 
Tars  Tarkas,  convinced  me  that  we  had  at  least 
something  in  common;  the  ability  to  smile,  there 
fore  to  laugh;  denoting  a  sense  of  humor.  But  I 
was  to  learn  that  the  Martian  smile  is  merely 
perfunctory,  and  that  the  Martian  laugh  is  a 
thing  to  cause  strong  men  to  blanch  in  horror. 

The  ideas  of  humor  among  the  green  men  of 
Mars  are  widely  at  variance  with  our  conceptions 
of  incitants  to  merriment.  The  death  agonies  of 
&  fellow  being  are,  to  these  strange  creatures,  pro 
vocative  of  the  wildest  hilarity,  while  their  chief 
form  of  commonest  amusement  is  to  inflict  death 
on  their  prisoners  of  war  in  various  ingenious  and 
horrible  ways. 

The  assembled  warriors  and  chieftains  exam 
ined  me  closely,  feeling  my  muscles  and  the  tex 
ture  of  my  skin.  The  principal  chieftain  then 
evidently  signified  a  desire  to  see  me  perform,  and, 
motioning  me  to  follow,  he  started  with  Tars 
Tarkas  for  the  open  plaza. 

Now,  I  had  made  no  attempt  to  walk,  since 
my  first  signal  failure,  except  while  tightly  grasp 
ing  Tars  Tarkas'  arm,  and  so  now  I  went  skip 
ping  and  flitting  about  among  the  desks  and  chairs 
like  some  monstrous  grasshopper.  After  bruis- 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


ing  myself  severely,  much  to  the  amusement  of 
the  Martians,  I  again  had  recourse  to  creeping, 
but  this  did  not  suit  them  and  I  was  roughly  jerked 
to  my  feet  by  a  towering  fellow  who  had  laughed 
most  heartily  at  my  misfortunes. 

As  he  banged  me  down  upon  my  feet  his  face 
was  bent  close  to  mine  and  I  did  the  only  thing 
a  gentleman  might  do  under  the  circumstances  of 
brutality,  boorishness,  and  lack  of  consideration 
for  a  stranger's  rights;  I  swung  my  fist  squarely 
to  his  jaw  and  he  went  down  like  a  felled  ox.  As 
he  sunk  to  the  floor  I  wheeled  around  with  my 
back  toward  the  nearest  desk,  expecting  to  be 
overwhelmed  by  the  vengeance  of  his  fellows,  but 
determined  to  give  them  as  good  a  battle  as  the 
unequal  odds  would  permit  before  I  gave  up  my 
life. 

My  fears  were  groundless,  however,  as  the 
other  Martians,  at  first  struck  dumb  with  wonder 
ment,  finally  broke  into  wild  peals  of  laughter  and 
applause.  I  did  not  recognize  the  applause  as 
such,  but  later,  when  I  had  become  acquainted 
with  their  customs,  I  learned  that  I  had  won  what 
they  seldom  accord,  a  manifestation  of  approba 
tion. 

The  fellow  whom  I  had  struck  lay  where  he  had 

[42] 


A  PRISONER 


fallen,  nor  did  any  of  his  mates  approach  him, 
Tars  Tarkas  advanced  toward  me,  holding  out 
one  of  his  arms,  and  we  thus  proceeded  to  the 
plaza  without  further  mishap.  I  did  not,  of 
course,  know  the  reason  for  which  we  had  come 
to  the  open,  but  I  was  not  long  in  being  enlightened, 
They  first  repeated  the  word  "sak"  a  number  of 
times,  and  then  Tars  Tarkas  made  several  jumps, 
repeating  the  same  word  before  each  leap;  then, 
turning  to  me,  he  said,  "sak!"  I  saw  what 
they  were  after,  and  gathering  myself  togethef 
1  "sakked"  with  such  marvelous  success  that  I 
cleared  a  good  hundred  and  fifty  feet;  nor  did  I, 
this  time,  lose  my  equilibrium,  but  landed  squarely 
upon  my  feet  without  falling.  I  then  returned  by 
easy  jumps  of  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet  to  the  littlf 
group  of  warriors. 

My  exhibition  had  been  witnessed  by  several 
hundred  lesser  Martians,  and  they  immediately 
broke  into  demands  for  a  repetition,  which  the 
chieftain  then  ordered  me  to  make;  but  I  was 
both  hungry  and  thirsty,  and  determined  on  the 
spot  that  my  only  method  of  salvation  was  tct 
demand  the  consideration  from  these  creature? 
which  they  evidently  would  not  voluntarily  accord, 
I  therefore  ignored  the  repeated  commands  W 

[43] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


"sak,"  and  each  time  they  were  made  I  motioned 
to  my  mouth  and  rubbed  my  stomach. 

Tars  Tarkas  and  the  chief  exchanged  a  few 
words,  and  the  former,  calling  to  a  young  female 
among  the  throng,  gave  her  some  instructions 
and  motioned  me  to  accompany  her.  I  grasped 
her  proffered  arm  and  together  we  crossed  the 
plaza  toward  a  large  building  on  the  far  side. 

My  fair  companion  was  about  eight  feet  tall, 
having  just  arrived  at  maturity,  but  not  yet  to  her 
full  height.  She  was  of  a  light  olive-green  color, 
with  a  smooth,  glossy  hide.  Her  name,  as  I  after 
ward  learned,  was  Sola,  and  she  belonged  to  the 
retinue  of  Tars  Tarkas.  Sh«  conducted  me  to  a 
spacious  chamber  in  one  of  the  buildings  fronting 
on  the  plaza,  and  which,  from  the  litter  of  silks 
and  furs  upon  the  floor,  I  took  to  be  the  sleeping 
quarters  of  several  of  the  natives. 

The  room  was  well  lighted  by  a  number  of 
large  windows  and  was  beautifully  decorated  with 
mural  paintings  and  mosaics,  but  upon  all  there 
seemed  to  rest  that  indefinable  touch  of  the  finger 
of  antiquity  which  convinced  me  that  the  archi 
tects  and  builders  of  these  wondrous  creations 
had  nothing  In  common  with  the  crude  half-brutes 
which  now  occupied  them. 
[44] 


A  PRISONER 


Sola  motioned  me  to  be  seated  upon  a  pile  of 
silks  near  the  center  of  the  room,,  and,  turning, 
made  a  peculiar  hissing  sound,  as  though  signaling 
to  some  one  in  an  adjoining  room.  In  response  to 
her  call  I  obtained  my  first  sight  of  a  new  Martian 
wonder.  It  waddled  in  on  its  ten  short  legs,  and 
squatted  down  before  the  girl  like  an  obedient 
puppy.  The  thing  was  about  the  size  of  a  Shetland 
pony,  but  its  head  bore  a  slight  resemblance  to  that 
of  a  frog,  except  that  the  jaws  were  equipped  with 
three  rows  of  long,  sharp  tusks. 


l4Sl 


CHAPTER  V 

I  ELUDE  MY  WATCH  DOG 

SOLA  stared  into  the  brute's  wicked-looking 
eyes,  muttered  a  word  or  two  of  command, 
pointed  to  me,  and  left  the  chamber.  I  could  not 
but  wonder  what  this  ferocious-looking  monstros 
ity  might  do  when  left  alone  in  such  close  prox 
imity  to  such  a  relatively  tender  morsel  of  meat; 
but  my  fears  were  groundless,  as  the  beast,  after 
surveying  me  intently  for  a  moment,  crossed  the 
room  to  the  only  exit  whrch  led  to  the  street,  and 
lay  down  full  length  across  the  threshold. 

This  was  my  first  experience  with  a  Martian 
watch  dog,  but  it  was  destined  not  to  be  my  last, 
for  this  fellow  guarded  me  carefully  during  the 
time  I  remained  a  captive  among  these  green  men ; 
twice  saving  my  life,  and  never  voluntarily  being 
away  from  me  a  moment. 

While  Sola  was  away  I  took  occasion  to  examine 
more  minutely  the  room  in  which  I  found  myself 
captive.  The  mural  painting  depicted  scenes  of 
rare  and  wonderful  beauty:  mountains,  rivers, 


/  ELUDE  MY  WATCH  DOG 

__-______— ^_— __________ — sx^. 

lake,  ocean,  meadow,  trees  and  flowers,  winding 
roadways,  sun-kissed  gardens  —  scenes  which 
might  have  portrayed  earthly  views  but  for  the 
different  colorings  of  the  vegetation.  The  work 
had  evidently  been  wrought  by  a  master  hand,  so 
subtle  the  atmosphere,  so  perfect  the  technique; 
yet  nowhere  was  there  a  representation  of  a  living 
animal,  either  human  or  brute,  by  which  I  could 
guess  at  the  likeness  of  these  other  and  perhaps 
extinct  denizens  of  Mars. 

While  I  was  allowing  my  fancy  to  run  riot  in 
wild  conjecture  on  the  possible  explanation  of  the 
strange  anomalies  which  I  had  so  far  met  with  on 
Mars,  Sola  returned  bearing  both  food  and  drink. 
These  she  placed  on  the  floor  beside  me,  and  seat 
ing  herself  a  short  ways  off  regarded  me  intently. 
The  food  consisted  of  about  a  pound  of  some  solid 
substance  of  the  consistency  of  cheese  and  almost 
tasteless,  while  the  liquid  was  apparently  milk 
from  some  animal.  It  was  not  unpleasant  to  the 
taste,  though  slightly  acid,  and  I  learned  in  a  short 
time  to  prize  it  very  highly.  It  came,  as  I  later 
discovered,  not  from  an  animal,  as  there  is  only 
one  mammal  on  Mars  and  that  one  very  rare 
indeed,  but  from  a  large  pknt  which  grows  prac 
tically  without  water,  but  seems  to  distill  its 
[47] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


ful  supply  of  milk  from  the  products  of  the  soil, 
the  moisture  of  the  air,  and  the  rays  of  the  sun. 
A  single  plant  of  this  species  will  give  eight  or 
ten  quarts  of  milk  per  day. 

After  I  had  eaten  I  was  greatly  invigorated,  but 
feeling  the  need  of  rest  I  stretched  out  upon  the 
silks  and  was  soon  asleep.  I  must  have  slept  sev 
eral  hours,  as  it  was  dark  when  I  awoke,  and  I 
was  very  cold.  I  noticed  that  someone  had  thrown 
a  fur  over  me,  but  it  had  become  partially  dis 
lodged  and  in  the  darkness  I  could  not  see  to 
replace  it.  Suddenly  a  hand  reached  out  and 
pulled  the  fur  over  me,  shortly  afterwards  adding 
another  to  my  covering. 

I  presumed  that  my  watchful  guardian  was  Sola, 
nor  was  I  wrong.  This  girl  alone,  among  all  the 
green  Martians  with  whom  I  came  in  contact, 
disclosed  characteristics  of  sympathy,  kindliness, 
and  affection ;  her  ministrations  to  my  bodily  wants 
were  unfailing,  and  her  solicitous  care  saved  me 
from  much  suffering  and  many  hardships. 

As  I  was  to  learn,  the  Martian  nights  are 
extremely  cold,  and  as  there  is  practically  no 
twilight  or  dawn,  the  changes  in  temperature  are 
sudden  and  most  uncomfortable,  as  are  the  tran 
sitions  from  brilliant  daylight  to  darkness.  The 

[48] 


/  ELUDE  MY  WATCH  DOG 

nights  are  either  brilliantly  illumined  or  very  dark, 
for  if  neither  of  the  two  moons  of  Mars  happen 
to  be  in  the  sky  almost  total  darkness  results,  since 
the  lack  of  atmosphere,  or,  rather,  the  very  thin 
atmosphere,  fails  to  diffuse  the  starlight  to  any 
great  extent;  on  the  other  hand,  if  both  of  the 
moons  are  in  the  heavens  at  night  the  surface  of 
the  ground  is  brightly  illuminated. 

Both  of  Mars'  moons  are  vastly  nearer  her  than 
is  our  moon  to  Earth;  the  nearer  moon  being  but 
about  five  thousand  miles  distant,  while  the  fur 
ther  is  but  little  more  than  fourteen  thousand 
miles  away,  against  the  nearly  one-quarter  million 
miles  which  separate  us  from  our  moon.  The 
nearer  moon  of  Mars  makes  a  complete  revolu 
tion  around  the  planet  in  a  little  over  seven  and 
one-half  hours,  so  that  she  may  be  seen  hurtling 
through  the  sky  like  some  huge  meteor  two  or 
three  times  each  night,  revealing  all  her  phases 
during  each  transit  of  the  heavens. 
-  The  further  moon  revolves  about  Mars  in  some 
thing  over  thirty  and  one-quarter  hours,  and  with 
her  sister  satellite  makes  a  nocturnal  Martian  scene 
one  of  splendid  and  weird  grandeur.  And  it  is 
well  that  nature  has  so  graciously  and  abundantly 
lighted  the  Martian  night,  for  the  green  men  of 

[49] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


Mars,  being  a  nomadic  race  without  high  intel 
lectual  development,  have  but  crude  means  for 
artificial  lighting;  depending  principally  upon 
torches,  a  kind  of  candle,  and  a  peculiar  oil  lamp 
which  generates  a  gas  and  burns  without  a  wick. 

This  last  device  produces  an  intensely  brilliant 
far-reaching  white  light,  but  as  the  natural  oil 
which  it  requires  can  only  be  obtained  by  mining 
in  one  of  several  widely  separated  and  remote 
localities  it  is  seldom  used  by  these  creatures 
whose  only  thought  is  for  today,  and  whose  hatred 
for  manual  labor  has  kept  them  in  a  semi-barbaric 
state  for  countless  ages. 

After  Sola  had  replenished  my  coverings  I 
again  slept,  nor  did  I  awaken  until  daylight.  The 
other  occupants  of  the  room,  five  in  number,  were 
all  females,  and  they  were  still  sleeping,  piled 
high  with  a  motley  array  of  silks  and  furs.  Across 
the  threshold  lay  stretched  the  sleepless  guardian 
brute,  just  as  I  had  last  seen  him  on  the  preceding 
day;  apparently  he  had  not  moved  a  muscle;  his, 
eyes  were  fairly  glued  upon  me,  and  I  fell  to  won 
dering  just  what  might  befall  me  should  I  endeavor 
to  escape. 

I  have  ever  been  prone  to  seek  adventure  and 
to  investigate  and  experiment  where  wiser  men 


would  have  left  well  enough  alone.  It  therefore 
now  occurred  to  me  that  the  surest  way  of  learn 
ing  the  exact  attitude  of  this  beast  toward  me 
would  be  to  attempt  to  leave  the  room.  I  felt 
fairly  secure  in  my  belief  that  I  could  escape  him 
should  he  pursue  me  once  I  was  outside  the  build 
ing,  for  I  had  begun  to  take  great  pride  in  my 
ability  as  a  jumper.  Furthermore,  I  could  see 
from  the  shortness  of  his  legs  that  the  brute  him 
self  was  no  jumper  and  probably  no  runner. 

Slowly  and  carefully,  therefore,  I  gained  my 
feet,  only  to  see  that  my  watcher  did  the  same; 
cautiously  I  advanced  toward  him,  finding  that 
by  moving  with  a  shuffling  gait  I  could  retain  my 
balance  as  well  as  make  reasonably  rapid  prog 
ress.  As  I  neared  the  brute  he  backed  cautiously 
away  from  me,  and  when  I  had  reached  the  open 
he  moved  to  one  side  to  let  me  pass.  He  then 
fell  in  behind  me  and  followed  about  ten  paces 
in  my  rear  as  I  made  my  way  along  the  deserted 
street. 

Evidently  his  mission  was  to  protect  me  only, 
I  thought,  but  when  we  reached  the  edge  of  the 
city  he  suddenly  sprang  before  me,  uttering  strange 
sounds  and  baring  his  ugly  and  ferocious  tusks. 
Thinking  to  have  some  amusement  at  his  expense, 


'A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


I  rushed  toward  him,  and  when  almost  upon  him 
sprang  into  the  air,  alighting  far  beyond  him 
and  away  from  the  city.  He  wheeled  instantly 
and  charged  me  with  the  most  appalling  speed 
I  had  ever  beheld.  I  had  thought  his  short  legs 
a  bar  to  swiftness,  but  had  he  been  coursing  with 
greyhounds  the  latter  wou!4  have  appeared  as 
though  asleep  on  a  door  mat.  As  I  was  to  learn, 
this  is  the  fleetest  animal  on  Mars,  and  owing 
to  its  intelligence,  loyalty,  and  ferocity  is  used  in 
hunting,  in  war,  and  as  the  protector  of  the  Mar 
tian  man. 

I  quickly  saw  that  I  would  have  difficulty  in 
escaping  the  fangs  of  the  beast  on  a  straightaway 
course,  and  so  I  met  his  charge  by  doubling  in  my 
tracks  and  leaping  over  him  as  he  was  almost 
upon  me.  This  maneuver  gave  me  a  considerable 
advantage,  and  I  was  able  to  reach  the  city  quite 
a  bit  ahead  of  him,  and  as  he  came  tearing  after 
me  I  jumped  for  a  window  about  thirty  feet  from 
'he  ground  in  the  face  of  one  of  the  buildings  over- 
1  looking  the  valley. 

Grasping  the  sill  I  pulled  myself  up  to  a  sitting 
posture  without  looking  into  the  building,  and 
gazed  down  at  the  baffled  animal  beneath  me.  My 
exultation  was  short  lived,  however,  for  scarcely 


1  ELUDE  MY  WATCH  DOG 

had  I  gained  a  secure  seat  upon  the  sill  than  a 
huge  hand  grasped  me  by  the  neck  from  behind 
and  dragged  me  violently  into  the  room.  Here 
I  was  thrown  upon  my  back,  and  beheld  standing 
over  me  a  colossal  ape-like  creature,  white  and 
hairless  except  for  an  enormous  shock  of  bristly 
hair  upon  its  head. 


CHAPTER  VI 


THE  thing,  which  more  nearly  resembled  our 
earthly  men  than  it  did  the  Martians  I  had 
seen,  held  me  pinioned  to  the  ground  with  one 
huge  foot,  while  it  jabbered  and  gesticulated  at 
some  answering  creature  behind  me.  This  other, 
which  was  evidently  its  mate,  soon  came  toward 
us,  bearing  a  mighty  stone  cudgel  with  which  it 
evidently  intended  to  brain  me. 

The  creatures  were  about  ten  or  fifteen  feet  tall, 
standing  erect,  and  had,  like  the  green  Martians, 
an  intermediary  set  of  arms  or  legs,  midway 
between  their  upper  and  lower  limbs.  Their  eyes 
were  close  together  and  non-protruding;  their  ears 
were  high  set,  but  more  laterally  located  than  those 
of  the  Martians,  while  their  snouts  and  teeth  were 
strikingly  like  those  of  our  African  gorilla.  Alto 
gether  they  were  not  unlovely  when  viewed  in 
comparison  with  the  green  Martians. 

The  cudgel  was  swinging  in  the  arc  which  ended 
upon  my  upturned  face  when  a  bolt  of  myriad* 

[54] 


legged  horror  hurled  itself  through  the  doorway 
full  upon  the  breast  of  my  executioner.  With  a 
shriek  of  fear  the  ape  which  held  me  leaped 
through  the  open  window,  but  its  mate  closed  in  a 
terrific  death  struggle  with  my  preserver,  which 
was  nothing  less  than  my  faithful  watch-thing;  I 
cannot  bring  myself  to  call  so  hideous  a  creature 
a  dog. 

As  quickly  as  possible  I  gained  my  feet  and 
backing  against  the  wall  I  witnessed  such  a  battle 
as  it  is  vouchsafed  few  beings  to  see.  The  strength, 
agility,  and  blind  ferocity  of  these  two  creatures 
is  approached  by  nothing  known  to  earthly  man. 
My  beast  had  an  advantage  in  his  first  hold,  hav 
ing  sunk  his  mighty  fangs  far  into  the  breast  of 
his  adversary;  but  the  great  arms  and  paws  of 
the  ape,  backed  by  muscles  far  transcending  those 
of  the  Martian  men  I  had  seen,  had  locked  the 
throat  of  my  guardian  and  slowly  were  choking 
out  his  life,  and  bending  back  his  head  and  neck 
upon  his  body,  where  I  momentarily  expected  the 
former  to  fall  limp  at  the  end  of  a  broken  neck. 

In  accomplishing  this  the  ape  was  tearing  away 
the  entire  front  of  its  breast,  which  was  held  in 
the  vise-like  grip  of  the  powerful  jaws.  Back  and 
forth  upon  the  floor  they  rolled,  neither  one  emit- 

[55] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


ting  a  sound  of  fear  or  pain.  Presently  I  saw  the 
great  eyes  of  my  beast  bulging  completely  from 
their  sockets  and  blood  flowing  from  its  nostrils. 
That  he  was  weakening  perceptibly  was  evident, 
but  so  also  was  the  ape,  whose  struggles  were 
growing  momentarily  less. 

Suddenly  I  came  to  myself  and,  with  that  strange 
instinct  which  seems  ever  to  prompt  me  to  my  duty, 
I  seized  the  cudgel,  which  had  fallen  to  the  floor 
at  the  commencement  of  the  battle,  and  swinging 
it  with  all  the  power  of  my  earthly  arms  I  crashed 
it  full  upon  the  head  of  the  ape,  crushing  his  skull 
as  though  it  had  been  an  egg  shell. 

Scarcely  had  the  blow  descended  when  I  was 
confronted  with  a  new  danger.  The  ape's  mate, 
recovered  from  its  first  shock  of  terror,  had 
returned  to  the  scene  of  the  encounter  by  way  of 
,the  interior  of  the  building.  I  glimpsed  him  just 
before  he  reached  the  doorway  and  the  sight  of 
him,  now  roaring  as  he  perceived  his  lifeless  fellow 
stretched  upon  the  floor,  and  frothing  at  the 
mouth,  in  the  extremity  of  his  rage,  filled  me,  I 
must  confess,  with  dire  forebodings. 

I  am  ever  willing  to  stand  and  fight  when  the 
odds  are  not  too  overwhelmingly  against  me,  but 
in  this  instance  I  perceived  neither  glory  nor  profit 

[56] 


A  FIGHT  THAT  WON  FRIENDS 

in  pitting  my  relatively  puny  strength  against  the 
iron  muscles  and  brutal  ferocity  of  this  enraged 
denizen  of  an  unknown  world;  in  fact,  the  only 
outcome  of  such  an  encounter,  so  far  as  I  might 
be  concerned,  seemed  sudden  death. 

I  was  standing  near  the  window  and  I  knew 
that  once  in  the  street  I  might  gain  the  plaza  and 
safety  before  the  creature  could  overtake  me;  at 
least  there  was  a  chance  for  safety  in  flight,  against 
almost  certain  death  should  I  remain  and  fight 
however  desperately. 

It  is  true  I  held  the  cudgel,  but  what  could  I  do 
with  it  against  his  four  great  arms  ?  Even  should 
I  break  one  of  them  with  my  first  blow,  for  I 
figured  that  he  would  attempt  to  ward  off  the 
cudgel,  he  could  reach  out  and  annihilate  me  with 
the  others  before  I  could  recover  for  a  second 
attack. 

In  the  instant  that  these  thoughts  passed 
through  my  mind  I  had  turned  to  make  for  the 
window,  but  my  eyes  alighting  on  the  form  of  my 
erstwhile  guardian  threw  all  thoughts  of  flight  to 
the  four  winds.  He  lay  gasping  upon  the  floor 
of  the  chamber,  his  great  eyes  fastened  upon  me 
in  what  seemed  a  pitiful  appeal  for  protection. 
I  could  not  withstand  that  look,  nor  could  I,  on 

[57] 


'A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


second  thought,  have  deserted  my  rescuer  without 
giving  as  good  an  account  of  myself  in  his  behalf 
as  he  had  in  mine. 

Without  more  ado,  therefore,  I  turned  to  meet 
the  charge  of  the  infuriated  bull  ape.  He  was  now 
too  close  upon  me  for  the  cudgel  to  prove  of  any 
effective  assistance,  so  I  merely  threw  it  as  heavily 
as  I  could  at  his  advancing  bulk.  It  struck  him 
just  below  the  knees,  eliciting  a  howl  of  pain  and 
rage,  and  so  throwing  him  off  his  balance  that  he 
lunged  full  upon  me  with  arms  wide  stretched  to 
ease  his  fall. 

Again,  as  on  the  preceding  day,  I  had  recourse 
to  earthly  tactics,  and  swinging  my  right  fist  full 
upon  the  point  of  his  chin  I  followed  it  with  a 
smashing  left  to  the  pit  of  his  stomach.  The  effect 
was  marvelous,  for,  as  I  lightly  side-stepped,  after 
delivering  the  second  blow,  he  reeled  and  fell  upon 
the  floor  doubled  up  with  pain  and  gasping  for 
wind.  Leaping  over  his  prostrate  body,  I  seized 
the  cudgel  and  finished  the  monster  before  he 
could  regain  his  feet. 

As  I  delivered  the  blow  a  low  laugh  rang  out 
behind  me,  and,  turning,  I  beheld  Tars  Tarkas, 
Sola,  and  three  or  four  warriors  standing  in  the 
doorway  of  the  chamber.  As  my  eyes  met  theirs 

[58] 


I  was,  for  the  second  time,  the  recipient  of  their 
zealously  guarded  applause. 

My  absence  had  been  noted  by  Sola  on  her 
awakening,  and  she  had  quickly  informed  Tars 
Tarkas,  who  had  set  out  immediately  with  a  hand 
ful  of  warriors  to  search  for  me.  As  they  had 
approached  the  limits  of  the  city  they  had  wit 
nessed  the  actions  of  the  bull  ape  as  he  bolted 
into  the  building,  frothing  with  rage. 

They  had  followed  immediately  behind  him, 
thinking  it  barely  possible  that  his  actions  might 
prove  a  clew  to  my  whereabouts,  and  had  wit 
nessed  my  short  but  decisive  battle  with  him.  This 
encounter,  together  with  my  set-to  with  the  Mar 
tian  warrior  on  the  previous  day  and  my  feats  of 
jumping  placed  me  upon  a  high  pinnacle  in  their 
regard.  Evidently  devoid  of  all  the  finer  senti 
ments  of  friendship,  love,  or  affection,  these  people 
fairly  worship  physical  prowess  and  bravery,  and 
nothing  is  too  good  for  the  object  of  their  adora 
tion  as  long  as  he  maintains  his  position  by 
repeated  examples  of  his  skill,  strength,  and  cour 
age.  t 

Sola,  who  had  accompanied  the  searching  party 
of  her  own  volition,  was  the  only  one  of  the  Mar 
tians  whose  face  had  not  been  twisted  in  laughter 

[59] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


as  I  batded  for  my  life.  She,  on  the  contrary, 
was  sober  with  apparent  solicitude  and,  as  soon 
as  I  had  finished  the  monster,  rushed  to  me  and 
carefully  examined  my  body  for  possible  wounds 
or  injuries.  Satisfying  herself  that  I  had  come  off 
unscathed  she  smiled  quietly,  and,  taking  my  hand, 
started  toward  the  door  of  the  chamber. 

Tars  Tarkas  and  the  other  warriors  had  entered 
and  were  standing  over  the  now  rapidly  reviving 
brute  which  had  saved  my  life,  and  whose  life  I, 
in  turn,  had  rescued.  They  seemed  to  be  deep  in 
argument,  and  finally  one  of  them  addressed  me, 
but  remembering  my  ignorance  of  his  language 
turned  back  to  Tars  Tarkas,  who,  with  a  word 
and  gesture,  gave  some  command  to  the  fellow 
and  turned  to  follow  us  from  the  room. 

There  seemed  something  menacing  in  their  atti 
tude  toward  my  beast,  and  I  hesitated  to  leave 
until  I  had  learned  the  outcome.  It  was  well  I 
did  so,  for  the  warrior  drew  an  evil-looking  pistol 
from  its  holster  and  was  on  the  point  of  putting 
an  end  to  the  creature  when  I  sprang  forward  and 
struck  up  his  arm.  The  bullet  striking  the  wooden 
casing  of  the  window  exploded,  blowing  a  hole 
completely  through  the  wood  and  masonry. 

I  then  knelt  down  beside  the  fearsome  looking 

[60] 


A  FIGHT  THAT  WON  FRIENDS 

thing,  and  raising  it  to  its  feet  motioned  for  it  to 
follow  me.  The  looks  of  surprise  which  my  actions 
elicited  from  the  Martians  were  ludicrous;  they 
could  not  understand,  except  in  a  feeble  and  child 
ish  way,  such  attributes  as  gratitude  and  compas 
sion.  The  warrior  whose  gun  I  had  struck  up 
looked  inquiringly  at  Tars  Tarkas,  but  the  latter 
signed  that  I  be  left  to  my  own  devices,  and  so 
we  returned  to  the  plaza  with  my  great  beast  fol 
lowing  close  at  heel,  and  Sola  grasping  me  tightly 
by  the  arm. 

I  had  at  least  two  friends  on  Mars;  a  young 
woman  who  watched  over  me  with  motherly  solic 
itude,  and  a  dumb  brute  which,  as  I  later  came  to 
know,  held  in  its  poor  ugly  carcass  more  love, 
more  loyalty,  more  gratitude  than  could  have  been 
found  in  the  entire  five  million  green  Martians 
who  rove  the  deserted  cities  and  dead  sea  bottoms 
of  Mars. 


[61] 


CHAPTER  VII 

CHILD-RAISING  ON  MARS 

AFTER  a  breakfast,  .which  was  an  exact 
replica  of  the  meal  of  the  preceding  day 
and  an  index  of  practically  every  meal  which  fol 
lowed  while  I  was  with  the  green  men  of  Mars, 
Sola  escorted  me  to  the  plaza,  where  I  found  the 
entire  community  engaged  in  watching  or  helping 
at  the  harnessing  of  huge  mastodonian  animals  to 
great  three-wheeled  chariots1.  There  were  about 
two  hundred  and  fifty  of  these  vehicles,  each 
drawn  by  a  single  animal,  any  one  of  which,  from 
their  appearance,  might  easily  have  drawn  the 
entire  wagon  train  when  fully  loaded. 

The  chariots  themselves  were  large,  commo 
dious,  and  gorgeously  decorated.  In  each  was 
seated  a  female  Martian  loaded  with  ornaments 
of  metal,  with  jewels  and  silks  and  furs,  and  upon 
the  back  of  each  of  the  beasts  which  drew  the 
chariots  was  perched  a  young  Martian  driver.  Like 
the  animals  upon  which  the  warriors  were 
mounted,  the  heavier  draft  animals  wore  neither 


CHILD-RAISING  ON  MARS 

bit  nor  bridle,  but  were  guided  entirely  by  tel 
epathic  means. 

This  power  is  wonderfully  developed  in  all 
Martians,  and  accounts  largely  for  the  simplicity 
of  their  language  and  the  relatively  few  spoken 
words  exchanged  even  in  long  conversations.  It 
is  the  universal  language  of  Mars,  through  the 
medium  of  which  the  higher  and  lower  animals  of 
this  world  of  paradoxes  are  able  to  communicate 
to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  depending  upon  the 
intellectual  sphere  of  the  species  and  the  develop 
ment  of  the  individual. 

As  the  cavalcade  took  up  the  line  of  march  in 
single  file,  Sola  dragged  me  into  an  empty  chariot 
and  we  proceeded  with  the  procession  toward  the 
point  by  which  I  had  entered  the  city  the  day 
before.  At  the  head  of  the  caravan  rode  some  two 
hundred  warriors,  five  abreast,  and  a  like  number 
brought  up  the  rear,  while  twenty-five  or  thirty 
outriders  flanked  us  on  either  side. 

Every  one  but  myself — men,  women,  and  chil» 
dren  —  were  heavily  armed,  and  at  the  tail  of 
each  chariot  trotted  a  Martian  hound,  my  own 
beast  following  closely  behind  ours;  in  fact,  the 
faithful  creature  never  left  me  voluntarily  during 
the  entire  ten  years  I  spent  on  Mars.  Our  way 
[63] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


led  out  across  the  little  valley  before  the  city, 
through  the  hills,  and  down  into  the  dead  sea  bot 
tom  which  I  had  traversed  on  my  journey  from 
the  incubator  to  the  plaza.  The  incubator,  as  it 
proved,  was  the  terminal  point  of  our  journey  this 
day,  and,  as  the  entire  cavalcade  broke  into  a  mad 
gallop  as  soon  as  we  reached  the  level  expanse  of 
sea  bottom,  we  were  soon  within  sight  of  our 
goal. 

On  reaching  it  the  chariots  were  parked  with 
military  precision  on  the  four  sides  of  the  enclos 
ure,  and  half  a  score  of  warriors,  headed  by  the 
enormous  chieftain,  and  including  Tars  Tarkas 
and  several  other  lesser  chiefs,  dismounted  and 
advanced  toward  it.  I  could  see  Tars  Tarkas 
explaining  something  to  the  principal  chieftain, 
whose  name,  by  the  way,  was,  as  nearly  as  I  can 
translate  it  into  English,  Lorquas  Ptomel,  Jed; 
jed  being  his  title. 

I  was  soon  appraised  of  the  subject  of  their  con 
versation,  as,  calling  to  Sola,  Tars  Tarkas  signed 
for  her  to  send  me  to  him.  I  had  by  this  time 
mastered  the  intricacies  of  walking  under  Mar 
tian  conditions,  and  quickly  responding  to  his  com 
mand  I  advanced  to  the  side  of  the  incubator 
where  the  warriors  stood. 

[64] 


CHILD-RAISING  ON  MARS 

As  I  reached  their  side  a  glance  showed  me 
that  all  but  a  very  few  eggs  had  hatched,  the  incu 
bator  being  fairly  alive  with  the  hideous  little 
devils.  They  ranged  in  height  from  three  to 
four  feet,  and  were  moving  restlessly  about  the 
enclosure  as  though  searching  for  food. 

As  I  came  to  a  halt  before  him,  Tars  Tarkas 
pointed  over  the  incubator  and  said,  "sak."  I 
saw  that  he  wanted  me  to  repeat  my  performance 
of  yesterday  for  the  edification  of  Lorquas  Ptomel, 
and,  as  I  must  confess  that  my  prowess  gave  me 
no  little  satisfaction,  I  responded  quickly,  leaping 
entirely  over  the  parked  chariots  on  the  far  side  of 
the  incubator.  As  I  returned,  Lorquas  Ptomel 
grunted  something  at  me,  and  turning  to  his  war 
riors  gave  a  few  words  of  command  relative  to 
the  incubator.  They  paid  no  further  attention  to 
me  and  I  was  thus  permitted  to  remain  close  and 
watch  their  operations,  which  consisted  in  break 
ing  an  opening  in  the  wall  of  the  incubator  large 
enough  to  permit  of  the  exit  of  the  young 
Martians. 

On  either  side  of  this  opening  the  women  and 
the  younger  Martians,  both  male  and  female, 
formed  two  solid  walls  leading  out  through  the 
chariots  and  quite  away  into  the  plain  beyond, 

[65] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


Between  these  walls  the  little  Martians  scampered, 
wild  as  deer;  being  permitted  to  run  the  full  length 
of  the  aisle,  where  they  were  captured  one  at  a 
time  by  the  women  and  older  children ;  the  last  in 
the  line  capturing  the  first  little  one  to  reach  the 
end  of  the  gauntlet,  her  opposite  in  the  line  cap 
turing  the  second,  and  so  on  until  all  the  little 
fellows  had  left  the  enclosure  and  been  appro 
priated  by  some  youth  or  female.  As  the  women 
caught  the  young  they  fell  out  of  line  and  returned 
to  their  respective  chariots,  while  those  who  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  young  men  were  later  turned 
over  to  some  of  the  women. 

I  saw  that  the  ceremony,  if  it  could  be  dignified 
by  such  a  name,  was  over,  and  seeking  out  Sola 
I  found  her  in  our  chariot  with  a  hideous  little 
creature  held  tightly  in  her  arms. 

The  work  of  rearing  young,  green  Martians 
consists  solely  in  teaching  them  to  talk,  and  to 
use  the  weapons  of  warfare  with  which  they  are 
loaded  down  from  the  very  first  year  of  their  lives. 
Coming  from  eggs  in  which  they  have  lain  for 
five  years,  the  period  of  incubation,  they  step  forth 
into  the  world  perfectly  developed  except  in  size. 
Entirely  unknown  to  their  own  mothers,  who,  in 
turn,  would  have  difficulty  in  pointing  out  the 
[66] 


CHILD-RAISING  ON  MARS 

fathers  with  any  degree  of  accuracy,  they  are  the 
common  children  of  the  community,  and  their  edu 
cation  devolves  upon  the  females  who  chance  to 
capture  them  as  they  leave  the  incubator. 

Their  foster  mothers  may  not  even  have  had 
an  egg  in  the  incubator,  as  was  the  case  with  Sola, 
who  had  not  commenced  to  lay,  until  less  than  a 
year  before  she  became  the  mother  of  another 
woman's  offspring.  But  this  counts  for  little 
among  the  green  Martians,  as  parental  and  filial 
love  is  as  unknown  to  them  as  it  is  common  among 
us.  I  believe  this  horrible  system  which  has  been 
carried  on  for  ages  is  the  direct  cause  of  the  loss 
of  all  the  finer  feelings  and  higher  humanitarian 
instincts  among  these  poor  creatures.  From  birth 
they  know  no  father  or  mother  love,  they  know 
not  the  meaning  of  the  word  home ;  they  are  taught 
that  they  are  only  suffered  to  live  until  they  can 
demonstrate  by  their  physique  and  ferocity  that 
they  are  fit  to  live.  Should  they  prove  deformed 
or  defective  in  any  way  they  are  promptly  shot; 
nor  do  they  see  a  tear  shed  for  a  single  one  of  the 
many  cruel  hardships  they  pass  through  from 
earliest  infancy. 

I  do  not  mean  that  the  adult  Martians  are 
unnecessarily  or  intentionally  cruel  to  the  young, 

[67] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


but  theirs  is  a  hard  and  pitiless  struggle  for  exist 
ence  upon  a  dying  planet,  the  natural  resources  of 
which  have  dwindled  to  a  point  where  the  support 
of  each  additional  life  means  an  added  tax  upon 
the  community  into  which  it  is  thrown. 

By  careful  selection  they  rear  only  the  hardiest 
specimens  of  each  species,  and  with  almost  super 
natural  foresight  they  regulate  the  birth  rate  to 
merely  offset  the  loss  by  death.  Each  adult  Mar 
tian  female  brings  forth  about  thirteen  eggs  each 
year,  and  those  which  meet  the  size,  weight,  and 
specific  gravity  tests  are  hidden  in  the  recesses  of 
some  subterranean  vault  where  the  temperature  is 
too  low  for  incubation.  Every  year  these  eggs 
are  carefully  examined  by  a  council  of  twenty 
chieftains,  and  all  but  about  one  hundred  of  the 
most  perfect  are  destroyed  out  of  each  yearly 
supply.  At  the  end  of  five  years  about  five  hun 
dred  almost  perfect  eggs  have  been  chosen  from 
the  thousands  brought  forth.  These  are  then 
placed  in  the  almost  air-tight  incubators  to  be 
hatched  by  the  sun's  rays  after  a  period  of  another 
five  years.  The  hatching  which  we  had  witnessed 
today  was  a  fairly  representative  event  of  its  kind, 
all  but  about  one  per  cent  of  the  eggs  hatching  in 
two  days.  If  the  remaining  eggs  ever  batched  we 
[68] 


CHILD-RAISING  ON  MARS 

knew  nothing  of  the  fate  of  the  little  Martians. 
They  were  not  wanted,  as  their  offspring  might 
inherit  and  transmit  the  tendency  to  prolonged 
incubation,  and  thus  upset  the  system  which  has 
maintained  for  ages  and  which  permits  the  adult 
Martians  to  figure  the  proper  time  for  return  to 
the  incubators,  almost  to  an  hour. 

The  incubators  are  built  in  remote  fastnesses, 
where  there  is  little  or  no  likelihood  of  their  being 
discovered  by  other  tribes.  The  result  of  such  a 
catastrophe  would  mean  no  children  in  the  commu 
nity  for  another  five  years.  I  was  later  to  wit 
ness  the  results  of  the  discovery  of  an  alien  incu 
bator. 

The  community  of  which  the  green  Martians 
with  whom  my  lot  was  cast  formed  a  part  was 
composed  of  some  thirty  thousand  souls.  They 
roamed  an  enormous  tract  of  arid  and  semi-arid 
land  between  forty  and  eighty  degrees  south  lati 
tude,  and  bounded  on  the  east  and  west  by  two 
large  fertile  tracts.  Their  headquarters  lay  in 
the  southwest  corner  of  this  district,  near  the  cross 
ing  of  two  of  the  so-called  Martian  canals. 

As  the  incubator  had  been  placed  far  north  of 
their  own  territory  in  a  supposedly  uninhabited 
and  unfrequented  area,  we  had  before  us  a  tre- 

[69] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


mendous  journey,  concerning  which  I,  of  course, 
knew  nothing. 

After  our  return  to  the  dead  city  I  passed  sev 
eral  days  in  comparative  idleness.  On  the  day  fol 
lowing  our  return  all  the  warriors  had  ridden  forth 
early  in  the  morning  and  had  not  returned  until 
just  before  darkness  fell.  As  I  later  learned,  they 
had  been  to  the  subterranean  vaults  in  which  the 
eggs  were  kept  and  had  transported  them  to  the 
incubator,  which  they  had  then  walled  up  for 
another  five  years,  and  which,  in  all  probability, 
would  not  be  visited  again  during  that  period. 

The  vaults  which  hid  the  eggs  until  they  were 
ready  for  the  incubator  were  located  many  miles 
south  of  the  incubator,  and  would  be  visited  yearly 
by  the  council  of  twenty  chieftains.  Why  they  did 
not  arrange  to  build%  their  vaults  and  incubators 
nearer  home  has  always  been  a  mystery  to  me,  and, 
like  many  other  Martian  mysteries,  unsolved  and 
unsolvable  by  earthly  reasoning  and  customs. 

Sola's  duties  were  now  doubled,  as  she  was  com 
pelled  to  care  for  the  young  Martian  as  well  as 
for  me,  but  neither  one  of  us  required  much  atten 
tion,  and  as  we  were  both  about  equally  advanced 
in  Martian  education,  Sola  took  it  upon  herself  to 
train  us  together. 

[70] 


CHILD-RAISING  ON  MARS 

Her  prize  consisted  in  a  male  about  four  feet 
tall,  very  strong  and  physically  perfect;  also,  he 
learned  quickly,  and  we  had  considerable  amuse 
ment,  at  least  I  did,  over  the  keen  rivalry  we  dis 
played.  The  Martian  language,  as  I  have  said, 
is  extremely  simple,  and  in  a  week  I  could  make 
all  my  wants  known  and  understand  nearly  every 
thing  that  was  said  to  me.  Likewise,  under  Sola's 
tutelage,  I  developed  my  telepathic  powers  so  that 
I  shortly  could  sense  practically  everything  that 
went  on  around  me. 

What  surprised  Sola  most  in  me  was  that  while 
I  could  catch  telepathic  messages  easily  from 
others,  and  often  when  they  were  not  intended  for 
me,  no  one  could  read  a  jot  from  my  mind  under 
any  circumstances.  At  first  this  vexed  me,  but 
later  I  was  very  glad  of  it,  as  it  gave  me  an 
undoubted  advantage  over  the  Martians. 


CHAPTER  yill 

A  FAIR  CAPTIVE  FROM  THE  SKY 

third  day  after  the  incubator  ceremony 
JL  we  set  forth  toward  home,  bat  scarcely  had 
the  Head  of  the  procession  debouched  into  the 
open  ground  before  the  city  than  orders  were 
given  for  an  immediate  and  hasty  return.  As 
though  trained  for  years  in  this  particular  evolu 
tion,  the  green  Martians  melted  like  mist  into 
the  spacious  doorways  of  the  near-by  buildings, 
until,  in  less  than  three  minutes,  the  entire  caval 
cade  of  chariots,  mastodons  and  mounted  warriors 
was  nowhere  to  be  seen. 

Sola  and  I  had  entered  a  building  upon  the 
front  of  the  <nty,  in  fact,  the  same  one  in  which 
I  had  had  my  encounter  with  the  apes,  and,  wish 
ing  to  see  what  had  caused  the  sudden  retreat,  I 
mounted  to  an  upper  floor  and  peered  from  the 
window  out  over  the  valley  and  the  hills  beyond ; 
and  there  I  saw  the  cause  of  their  sudden  scurry 
ing  to  cover.  A  huge  craft,  long,  low,  and  gray 
painted,  swung  slowly  over  the  crest  of  the  nearest 


A  FAIR  CAPTIFE  FROM  THE  SKY 

hill.  Following  it  came  another,  and  another,  and 
another,  until  twenty  of  them,  swinging  low  above 
the  ground,  sailed  slowly  and  majestically  toward 
us. 

Each  carried  a  strange  banner  swung  from  stem 
to  stern  above  the  upper  works,  and  upon  the  prow 
of  each  was  painted  some  odd  device  that  gleamed 
in  the  sunlight  and  showed  plainly  even  at  the 
distance  at  whicfi  we  were  from  the  vessels.  I 
could  see  figures  crowding  the  forward  decks  and 
upper  works  of  the  air  craft.  Whether  they  had 
discovered  us  or  simply  were  looking  at  the 
deserted  city  I  could  not  say,  but  in  any  event 
they  received  a  rude  reception,  for  suddenly  and 
without  warning  the  green  Martian  warriors  fired 
a  terrific  volley  from  the  windows  of  the  buildings 
facing  the  little  valley  across  which  the  great  ships 
were  so  peacefully  advancing. 

Instantly  the  scene  changed  as  by  magic;  the 
foremost  vessel  swung  broadside  toward  us,  and 
bringing  her  guns  into  play  returned  our  fire,  at 
the  same  time  moving  parallel  to  our  front  for  a 
short  distance  and  then  turning  back  with  the  evi 
dent  intention  of  completing  a  great  circle  which 
would  bring  her  up  to  position  once  more  opposite 
our  firing  line ;  the  other  vessels  followed  in  her 

[73] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


wake,  each  one  opening  upon  us  as  she  swung  into 
position.  Our  own  fire  never  diminished,  and  I 
doubt  if  twenty-five  per  cent  of  our  shots  went 
wild.  It  had  never  been  given  me  to  see  such 
deadly  accuracy  of  aim,  and  it  seamed  as  though 
a  little  figure  on  one  of  the  craft  dropped  at  the 
explosion  of  each  bullet,  while  the  banners  and 
upper  works  dissolved  in  spurts  of  flame  as  the 
irresistible  projectiles  of  our  warriors  mowed 
thrpugh  them. 

The  fire  from  the  vessels  was  most  ineffectual, 
owing,  as  I  afterward  learned,  to  the  unexpected 
suddenness  of  the  first  volley,  which  caught  the 
ship's  crews  entirely  unprepared  and  the  sighting 
apparatus  of  the  guns  unprotected  from  the  deadly 
aim  of  our  warriors. 

It  seems  that  each  green  warrior  has  certain 
objective  points  for  his  fire  under  relatively  iden 
tical  circumstances  of  warfare.  For  example,  a 
proportion  of  them,  always  the  best  marksmen, 
direct  their  fire  entirely  upon  the  wireless  finding 
and  sighting  apparatus  of  the  big  guns  of  an 
attacking  naval  force;  another  detail  attends  to 
the  smaller  guns  in  the  same  way;  others  pick  off 
the  gunners ;  still  others  the  officers ;  while  certain 
other  quotas  concentrate  their  attention  upon  the 

[74] 


A  FAIR  CAPTIFE  FROM  THE  SKY 

other  members  of  the  crew,  upon  the  upper  works, 
and  upon  the  steering  gear  and  propellers. 

Twenty  minutes  after  the  first  volley  the  great 
fleet  swung  trailing  off  in  the  direction  from  which 
it  had  first  appeared.  Several  of  the  craft  were 
limping  perceptibly,  and  seemed  but  barely  under 
the  control  of  their  depleted  crews.  Their  fire 
had  ceased  entirely  and  all  their  energies  seemed 
focused  upon  escape.  Our  warriors  then  rushed 
up  to  the  roofs  of  the  buildings  whkh  we  occupied 
and  followed  the  retreating  armada  with  a  con 
tinuous  fusillade  of  deadly  fire. 

One  by  one,  however,  the  ships  managed  to  dip 
below  the  crests  of  the  outlying  hills  until  only  one 
barely  moving  craft  was  in  sight  This  had 
received  the  brunt  of  our  fire  and  seemed  to  be 
entirely  unmanned,  as  not  a  moving  figure  was 
visible  upon  her  decks.  Slowly  she  swung  from 
her  course,  circling  back  toward  us  in  an  erratic 
and  pitiful  manner.  Instantly  the  warriors  ceased 
firing,  for  it  was  quite  apparent  that  the  vessel 
was  entirely  helpless,  and,  far  from  being  in  a 
position  to  inflict  harm  upon  us,  she  could  not  even 
control  herself  sufficiently  to  escape. 

As  she  neared  the  city  the  warriors  rushed  out 
upon  the  plain  to  meet  her,  but  it  was  evident  that 
[75] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


she  still  was  too  high  for  them  to  hope  to  reach 
Eer  decks.  From  my  vantage  point  in  the  window 
I  could  see  the  bodies  of  her  crew  strewn  about, 
although  I  could  not  make  out  what  manner  of 
creatures  they  might  be.  Not  a  sign  of  life  was 
manifest  upon  her  as  she  drifted  slowly  with  the 
light  breeze  in  a  southeasterly  direction. 

She  was  drifting  some  fifty  feet  above  the 
ground,  followed  by  all  but  some  hundred  of  the 
warriors  who  had  been  ordered  back  to  the  roofs 
to  cover  the  possibility  of  a  return  of  the  fleet,  or 
of  reinforcements.  It  soon  became  evident  that 
she  would  strike  the  face  of  the  buildings  about 
a  mile  south  of  our  position,  and  as  I  watched 
the  progress  of  the  chase  I  saw  a  number  of  war 
riors  gallop  ahead,  dismount  and  enter  the  build 
ing  she  seemed  destined  to  touch. 

As  the  craft  neared  the  building,  and  just  before 
she  struck,  the  Martian  warriors  swarmed  upon 
her  from  the  windows,  and  with  their  great  spears 
eased  the  shock  of  the  collision,  and  in  a  few 
moments  they  had  thrown  out  grappling  hooks  and 
the  big  boat  was  being  hauled  to  ground  by  their 
fellows  below. 

After  making  her  fast,  they  swarmed  the  sides 
and  searched  the  vessel  from  stem  to  stern.  I 
[761 


A  FAIR  CAPTIVE  FROM  THE  SKY 

could  see  them  examining  the  dead  sailors,  e>i- 
dently  for  signs  of  life,  and  presently  a  party  of 
them  appeared  from  below  dragging  a  little  figure 
among  them.  The  creature  was  considerably  less 
than  half  as  tall  as  the  green  Martian  warriors, 
and  from  my  balcony  I  could  see  that  it  walked 
erect  upon  two  legs  and  surmised  that  it  was  some 
new  and  strange  Martian  monstrosity  with  which 
I  had  not  as  yet  become  acquainted. 

They  removed  their  prisoner  to  the  ground  and 
then  commenced  a  systematic  rifling  of  the  vessel. 
This  operation  required  several  hours,  during 
which  time  a  number  of  the  chariots  were  requisi 
tioned  to  transport  the  loot,  which  consisted  in 
arms,  ammunition,  silks,  furs,  jewels,  strangely 
carved  stone  vessels,  and  a  quantity  of  solid  foods 
and  liquids,  including  many  casks  of  water,  the 
first  I  had  seen  since  my  advent  upon  Mars. 

After  the  last  load  had  been  removed  the  war 
riors  made  lines  fast  to  the  craft  and  towed  her 
far  out  into  the  valley  in  a  southwesterly  direction. 
A  few  of  them  then  boarded  her  and  were  busily 
engaged  in  what  appeared,  from  my  distant  posi 
tion,  as  the  emptying  of  the  contents  of  various 
carboys  upon  the  dead  bodies  of  the  sailors  and 
over  the  decks  and  works  of  the  vessel. 

[77] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


This  operation  concluded,  they  hastily  clam 
bered  over  her  sides,  sliding  down  the  guy  ropes  to 
the  ground.  The  last  warrior  to  leave  the  deck 
turned  and  threw  something  back  upon  the  vessel, 
waiting  an  instant  to  note  the  outcome  of  his  act. 
As  a  faint  spurt  of  flame  rose  from  the  point 
where  the  missile  struck  he  swung  over  the  side 
and  was  quickly  upon  the  ground.  Scarcely  had 
he  alighted  than  the  guy  ropes  were  simultaneously 
released,  and  the  great  warship,  lightened  by  the 
removal  of  the  loot,  soared  majestically  into  the 
air,  her  decks  and  upper  works  a  mass  of  roaring 
flames. 

Slowly  she  drifted  to  the  southeast,  rising  higher 
and  higher  as  the  flames  ate  away  her  wooden 
parts  and  diminished  the  weight  upon  her.  Ascend 
ing  to  the  roof  of  the  building  I  watched  her  for 
hours,  until  finally  she  was  lost  in  the  dim  vistas 
of  the  distance.  The  sight  was  awe-inspiring  in 
the  extreme  as  one  contemplated  this  mighty  float 
ing  funeral  pyre,  drifting  unguided  and  unmanned 
through  the  lonely  wastes  of  the  Martian  heavens; 
a  derelict  of  death  and  destruction,  typifying  the 
life  story  of  these  strange  and  ferocious  creatures 
into  whose  unfriendly  hands  fate  had  carried  it. 

Much  depressed,  and,  to  me,  unaccountably  so, 

[78] 


A  FAIR  CAPTIVE  FROM  THE  SKY 

I  slowly  descended  to  the  street.  The  scene  I  had 
witnessed  seemed  to  mark  the  defeat  and  annihi 
lation  of  the  forces  of  a  kindred  people,  rather 
than  the  routing  by  our  green  warriors  of  a  horde 
of  similar,  though  unfriendly,  creatures.  I  could 
not  fathom  the  seeming  hallucination,  nor  could 
I  free  myself  from  it;  but  somewhere  in  the  inner 
most  recesses  of  my  soul  I  felt  a  strange  yearning 
toward  these  unknown  foemen,  and  a  mighty  hope 
surged  through  me  that  the  fleet  would  return  and 
demand  a  reckoning  from  the  green  warriors  who 
had  so  ruthlessly  and  wantonly  attacked  it. 

Close  at  my  heel,  in  his  now  accustomed  place, 
followed  Woola,  the  hound,  and  as  I  emerged 
upon  the  street  Sola  rushed  up  to  me  as  though 
I  had  been  the  object  of  some  search  on  her  part. 
The  cavalcade  was  returning  to  the  plaza,  the 
homeward  march  having  been  ghrea  up  for  that 
day;  nor,  in  fact,  was  it  recommenced  for  more 
than  a  week,  owing  to  the  fear  of  a  return  attack 
by  the  air  craft 

Lorquas  Ptomel  was  too  astute  an  old  warrior 
to  be  caught  upon  the  open  plains  with  a  caravan 
of  chariots  and  children,  and  so  we  remained  at 
the  deserted  city  until  the  danger  seemed  passed. 

As  Sola  and  I  entered  the  plaza  a  sight  met  my 

[79] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


eyes  which  filled  my  whole  being  with  a  great  surge 
of  mingled  hope,  fear,  exultation,  and  depression, 
and  yet  most  dominant  was  a  subtle  sense  of  relief 
and  happiness;  for  just  as  we  neared  the  throng 
of  Martians  I  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  prisoner 
from  the  battle  craft  who  was  being  roughly 
dragged  into  a  near-by  building  by  a  couple  of 
green  Martian  females. 

And  the  sight  which  met  my  eyes  was  that  of  a 
slender,  girlish  figure,  similar  in  every  detail  to 
the  earthly  women  of  my  past  life.  She  did  not 
see  me  at  first,  but  just  as  she  was  disappearing 
through  the  portal  of  the  building  which  was  to  be 
her  prison  she  turned,  and  her  eyes  met  mine.  Her 
face  was  oval  and  beautiful  in  the  extreme,  her 
every  feature  was  finely  chiseled  and  exquisite,  her 
eyes  large  and  lustrous  and  her  head  surmounted 
by  a  mass  of  coal  black,  waving  hair,  caught 
loosely  into  a  strange  yet  becoming  coiffure.  Her 
skin  was  of  a  light  reddish  copper  color,  against 
which  the  crimson  glow  of  her  cheeks  and  the  ruby 
of  her  beautifully  molded  lips  shone  with  a 
strangely  enhancing  effect. 

She  was  as  destitute  of  clothes  as  the  green 
Martians  who  accompanied  her;  indeed,  save  for 
her  highly  wrought  ornaments  she  was  entirely 
[So] 


A  FAIR  CAPTIVE  FROM  THE  SKY 

naked,  nor  could  any  apparel  have  enhanced  the 
beauty  of  her  perfect  and  symmetrical  figure. 

As  her  gaze  rested  on  me  her  eyes  opened  wide 
in  astonishment,  and  she  made  a  little  sign  with 
her  free  hand;  a  sign  which  I  did  not,  of  course, 
understand.  Just  a  moment  we  gazed  upon  each 
other,  and  then  the  look  of  hope  and  renewed 
courage  which  had  glorified  her  face  as  she  dis 
covered  me,  faded  into  one  of  utter  dejection, 
mingled  with  loathing  and  contempt.  I  realized 
I  had  not  answered  her  signal,  and  ignorant  as  I 
was  of  Martian  customs,  I  intuitively  felt  that  she 
had  made  an  appeal  for  succor  and  protection 
which  my  unfortunate  ignorance  had  prevented 
me  from  answering.  'And  then  she  was  dragged 
out  of  my  sight  into  the  depths  of  the  deserted 
edifice. 


CHAPTER  IX 

I  LEARN  THE  LANGUAGE 

AS  I  came  back  to  myself  I  glanced  at  Sola, 
./A.  who  had  witnessed  this  encounter  and  I  was 
surprised  to  note  a  strange  expression  upon  her 
usually  expressionless  countenance.  What  her 
thoughts  were  I  did  not  know,  for  as  yet  I  had 
learned  but  little  of  the  Martian  tongue;  enough 
only  to  suffice  for  my  daily  needs. 

As  I  reached  the  doorway  of  our  building  a 
strange  surprise  awaited  me.  A  warrior  ap 
proached  bearing  the  arms,  ornaments,  and  full 
accouterments  of  his  kind.  These  he  presented 
to  me  with  a  few  unintelligible  words,  and  a  bear 
ing  at  once  respectful  and  menacing. 

Later,  Sola,  with  the  aid  of  several  of  the  other 
women,  remodeled  the  trappings  to  fit  my  lesser 
proportions,  and  after  they  completed  the  work 
I  went  about  garbed  in  all  the  panoply  of  war. 

From  then  on  Sola  instructed  me  in  the  mys 
teries  of  the  various  weapons,  and  with  the  Mar 
tian  young  I  spent  several  hours  each  day  prac- 


/  LEARN  THE  LANGUAGE 

ticing  upon  the  plaza.  I  was  not  yet  proficient 
with  all  the  weapons,  but  my  great  familiarity 
with  similar  earthly  weapons  made  me  an  unusually 
apt  pupil,  and  I  progressed  in  a  very  satisfactory 
manner. 

The  training  of  myself  and  the  young  Martians 
was  conducted  solely  by  the  women,  who  not  only 
attend  to  the  education  of  the  young  in  the  arts 
of  individual  defense  and  offense,  but  are  also  the 
artisans  who  produce  every  manufactured  article 
wrought  by  the  green  Martians.  They  make  the 
powder,  the  cartridges,  the  fire  arms ;  in  fact  every 
thing  of  value  is  produced  by  the  females.  In 
time  of  actual  warfare  they  form  a  part  of  the 
reserves,  and  when  the  necessity  arises  fight  with 
even  greater  intelligence  and  ferocity  than  the 
men. 

The  men  are  trained  in  the  higher  branches  of 
the  art  of  war;  in  strategy  and  the  maneuvering 
of  large  bodies  of  troops.  They  make  the  laws 
as  they  are  needed;  a  new  law  for  each  emergency,, 
They  are  unfettered  by  precedent  in  the  admin« 
istration  of  justice.  Customs  have  been  handed 
down  by  ages  of  repetition,  but  the  punishment 
for  ignoring  a  custom  rs  a  matter  for  individual 
treatment  by  a  jury  of  the  culprit's  peers,  and  I 


.*  r^r 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


may  say  that  justice  seldom  misses  fire,  but  seems 
rather  to  rule  in  inverse  ratio  to  the  ascendency 
of  law.  In  one  respect  at  least  the  Martians  are 
a  happy  people ;  they  have  no  lawyers. 

I  did  not  see  the  prisoner  again  for  several  days 
subsequent  to  our  first  encounter,  and  then  only 
to  catch  a  fleeting  glimpse  of  her  as  she  was  being 
conducted  to  the  great  audience  chamber  where 
I  had  had  my  first  meeting  with  Lorquas  Ptomel. 
I  could  not  but  note  the  unnecessary  harshness  and 
brutality  with  which  her  guards  treated  her;  so 
different  from  the  almost  maternal  kindliness 
which  Sola  manifested  toward  me,  and  the  respect 
ful  attitude  of  the  few  green  Martians  who  took 
the  trouble  to  notice  me  at  all. 

I  had  observed  on  the  two  occasions  when  I  had 
seen  her  that  the  prisoner  exchanged  words  with 
her  guards,  and  this  convinced  me  that  they  spoke, 
or  at  least  could  make  themselves  understood  by 
a  common  language.  With  this  added  incentive 
I  nearly  drove  Sola  distracted  by  my  importunities 
to  hasten  on  my  education,  and  within  a  few  more 
days  I  had  mastered  the  Martian  tongue  suffi 
ciently  well  to  enable  me  to  carry  on  a  passable 
conversation  and  to  fully  understand  practically 
all  that  I  heard. 

[84] 


/  LEARN  THE  LANGUAGE 

At  this  time  our  sleeping  quarters  were  occupied 
by  three  or  four  females  and  a  couple  of  the 
recently  hatched  young,  beside  Sola  and  her  youth 
ful  ward,  myself,  and  Woola  the  hound.  After 
they  had  retired  for  the  night  it  was  customary 
for  the  adults  to  carry  on  a  desultory  conversation 
for  a  short  time  before  lapsing  into  sleep,  and 
now  that  I  could  understand  their  language  I  was 
always  a  keen  listener,  although  I  never  proffered 
any  remarks  myself. 

On  the  night  following  the  prisoner's  visit  to 
the  audience  chamber  the  conversation  finally  fell 
upon  this  subject,  and  I  was  all  ears  on  the  instant. 
I  had  feared  to  question  Sola  relative  to  the  beau 
tiful  captive,  as  I  could  not  but  recall  the  strange 
expression  I  had  noted  upon  her  face  after  my  first 
encounter  with  the  prisoner.  That  it  denoted 
jealousy  I  could  not  say,  and  yet,  judging  all  things 
by  mundane  standards  as  I  still  did,  I  felt  it  safer 
to  affect  indifference  in  the  matter  until  I  learned 
more  surely  Sola's  attitude  toward  the  object  of 
my  solicitude. 

Sarkoja,  one  of  the  older  women  who  shared 
our  domicile,  had  been  present  at  the  audience  as 
one  of  the  captive's  guards,  and  it  was  toward  her 
the  questioners  turned. 

[«$] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


"When,"  asked  one  of  the  women,  "will  wr 
enjoy  the  death  throes  of  the  red  one?  or  does 
Lorquas  Ptomel,  Jed,  intend  holding  her  for 
ransom?" 

"  They  have  decided  to  carry  her  with  us  back 
to  Thark,  and  exhibit  her  last  agonies  at  the  great 
games  before  Tal  Hajus,"  replied  Sarkoja. 

"What  will  be  the  manner  of  her  going  out?" 
inquired  Sola.  "  She  is  very  small  and  very  beau 
tiful;  I  had  hoped  that  they  would  hold  her  for 


ransom." 


Sarkoja  and  the  other  women  grunted  angrily 
at  this  evidence  of  weakness  on  the  part  of  Sola. 

"  It  is  sad,  Sola,  that  you  were  not  born  a  mil 
lion  years  ago,"  snapped  Sarkoja,  "when  all  the 
hollows  of  the  land  were  filled  with  water,  and  the 
peoples  were  as  soft  as  the  stuff  they  sailed  upon. 
In  our  day  we  have  progressed  to  a  point  where 
such  sentiments  mark  weakness  and  atavism.  It 
will  not  be  well  for  you  to  permit  Tars  Tarkas  to 
learn  that  you  hold  such  degenerate  sentiments,  as 
I  doubt  that  he  would  care  to  entrust  such  as  you 
with  the  grave  responsibilities  of  maternity." 

"I  see  nothing  wrong  with  my  expression  of 
interest  in  this  red  woman,"  retorted  Sola.  "  She 
has  never  harmed  us,  nor  would  she  should  we 
[86] 


/  LEARN  'THE  LANGUAGE 

have  fallen  into  her  hands.  It  is  only  the  men 
of  her  kind  who  war  upon  us,  and  I  have  ever 
thought  that  their  attitude  toward  us  is  but  the 
reflection  of  ours  toward  them.  They  live  at  peace 
with  all  their  fellows,  except  when  duty  calls  upon 
them  to  make  war,  while  we  are  at  peace  with 
none;  forever  warring  among  our  own  kind  as  well 
as  upon  the  red  men,  and  even  in  our  own  com 
munities  the  individuals  fight  amongst  themselves. 
Oh,  it  is  one  continual,  awful  period  of  blood 
shed  from  the  time  we  break  the  shell  until  we 
gladly  embrace  the  bosom  of  the  river  of  mystery, 
the  dark  and  ancient  Iss  which  carries  us  to  an 
unknown,  but  at  least  no  more  frightful  and  ter 
rible  existence !  Fortunate  indeed  is  he  who  meets 
his  end  in  an  early  death.  Say  what  you  please  to 
^Tars  Tarkas,  he  can  mete  out  no  worse  fate  to 
me  than  a  continuation  of  the  horrible  existence 
we  are  forced  to  lead  in  this  life." 

This  wild  outbreak  on  the  part  of  Sola  so  greatly 
surprised  and  shocked  the  other  women,  that, 
after  a  few  words  of  general  reprimand,  they  all 
lapsed  into  silence  and  were  soon  asleep.  One 
thing  the  episode  had  accomplished  was  to  assure 
me  of  Sola's  friendliness  toward  the  poor  girl,  and 
also  to  convince  me  that  I  had  been  extremely 

[87] 


'A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


fortunate  in  falling  into  her  hands  rather  than 
those  of  some  of  the  other  females.  I  knew  that 
she  was  fond  of  me,  and  now  that  I  had  discovered 
that  she  hated  cruelty  and  barbarity  I  was  confi 
dent  that  I  could  depend  upon  her  to  aid  me  and 
the  girl  captive  to  escape,  provided  of  course  that 
such  a  thing  was  within  the  range  of  possibilities. 

I  did  not  even  know  that  there  were  any  better 
conditions  to  escape  to,  but  I  was  more  than  willing 
to  take  my  chances  among  people  fashioned  after 
my  own  mold  rather  than  to  remain  longer  among 
the  hideous  and  bloodthirsty  green  men  of  Mars. 
But  where  to  go,  and  how,  was  as  much  of  a  puzzle 
to  me  as  the  age  old  search  for  the  spring  of 
eternal  life  has  been  to  earthly  men  since  the  begin 
ning  of  time. 

I  decided  that  at  the  first  opportunity  I  would 
take  Sola  into  my  confidence  and  openly  ask  her 
to  aid  me,  and  with  this  resolution  strong  upon 
me  I  turned  among  my  silks  and  furs  and  slept 
the  dreamless  and  refreshing  sleep  of  Mars. 


[88] 


E 


CHAPTER  X 

CHAMPION  AND  CHIEF 

ARLY  the  next  morning  I  was  astir.  Con 
siderable  freedom  was  allowed  me,  as  Sola 
had  informed  me  that  so  long  as  I  did  not  attempt 
to  leave  the  city  I  was  free  to  go  and  come  as  I 
pleased.  She  had  warned  me,  however,  against 
venturing  forth  unarmed,  as  this  city,  like  all  other 
deserted  metropolises  of  an  ancient  Martian 
civilization,  was  peopled  by  the  great  white  apes 
of  my  second  day's  adventure. 

In  advising  me  that  I  must  not  leave  the  boun 
daries  of  the  city  Sola  had  explained  that  Woola 
would  prevent  this  anyway  should  I  attempt  it,  and 
she  warned  me  most  urgently  not  to  arouse  his 
fierce  nature  by  ignoring  his  warnings  should  I 
venture  too  close  to  the  forbidden  territory.  His 
nature  was  such,  she  said,  that  he  would  bring  me 
back  into  the  city  dead  or  alive  should  I  persist 
in  opposing  him;  "preferably  dead,"  she  added. 

On  this  morning  I  had  chosen  a  new  street  to 
explore  when  suddenly  I  found  myself  at  the 

[89] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


limits  of  the  city.  Before  me  were  low  hills  pierceA 
by  narrow  and  inviting  ravines.  I  longed  to 
explore  the  country  before  me,  and,  like  the  pioneer 
stock  from  which  I  sprang,  to  view  what  the  land 
scape  beyond  the  encircling  hills  might  disclose 
from  the  summits  which  shut  out  my  view. 

It  also  occurred  to  me  that  this  would  prove 
an  excellent  opportunity  to  test  the  qualities  of 
Woola,  I  was  convinced  that  the  brute  loved 
me;  I  had  seen  more  evidences  of  affection  in  him 
than  in  any  other  Martian  animal,  man  or  beast, 
and  I  was  sure  that  gratitude  for  the  acts  that  had 
twice  saved  his  life  would  more  than  outweigh 
his  loyalty  to  the  duty  imposed  upon  him  by  cruel 
and  loveless  masters. 

As  I  approached  the  boundary  line  Woola  ran 
anxiously  before  me,  and  thrust  his  body  against 
my  legs.  His  expression  was  pleading  rather  than 
ferocious,  nor  did  he  bare  his  great  tusks  or  utter 
his  fearful  guttural  warnings.  Denied  the  friend 
ship  and  companionship  of  my  kind,  I  had  devel 
oped  considerable  affection  for  Woola  and  Sola, 
for  the  normal  earthly  man  must  have  some  outlet 
for  his  natural  affections,  and  so  I  decided  upon 
an  appeal  to  a  like  instinct  in  this  great  brute,  sure 
that  I  would  not  be  disappointed. 

[90] 


CHAMPION  AND  CHIEF 


I  had  never  petted  nor  fondled  him,  but  now  I 
sat  upon  the  ground  and  putting  my  arms  around 
his  heavy  neck  I  stroked  and  coaxed  him,  talking 
in  my  newly  acquired  Martian  tongue  as  I  would 
have  to  my  hound  at  home,  as  I  would  have  talked 
to  any  other  friend  among  the  lower  animals.  His 
response  to  my  manifestation  of  affection  was 
remarkable  to  a  degree;  he  stretched  his  great 
mouth  to  its  full  width,  baring  the  entire  expanse 
of  his  upper  rows  of  tusks  and  wrinkling  his  snout 
until  his  great  eyes  were  almost  hidden  by  the  folds 
of  flesh.  If  you  have  ever  seen  a  collie  smile  you 
may  have  some  idea  of  Woola's  facial  distortion. 

He  threw  himself  upon  his  back  and  fairly  wal 
lowed  at  my  feet;  jumped  up  and  sprang  upon 
me,  rolling  me  upon  the  ground  by  his  great 
weight;  then  wriggling  and  squirming  around  me 
like  a  playful  puppy  presenting  its  back  for  the 
petting  it  craves.  I  could  not  resist  the  ludicrous- 
ness  of  the  spectacle,  and  holding  my  sides  I  rocked 
back  and  forth  in  the  first  laughter  which  had 
passed  my  lips  in  many  days;  the  first,  in  fact, 
since  the  morning  Powell  had  left  camp  when  his 
horse,  long  unused,  had  precipitately  and  unex 
pectedly  bucked  him  off  headforemost  into  a  pot  of 
frijoles. 

[91] 


My  laughter  frightened  Woola,  his  antics 
ceased  and  he  crawled  pitifully  toward  me,  poking 
his  ugly  head  far  into  my  lap;  and  then  I  remem 
bered  what  laughter  signified  on  Mars  —  torture, 
suffering,  death.  Quieting  myself,  I  rubbed  the 
poor  old  fellow's  head  and  back,  talked  to  him 
for  a  few  minutes,  and  then  in  an  authoritative 
tone  commanded  him  to  follow  me,  and  arising 
started  for  the  hills. 

There  was  no  further  question  of  authority 
between  us;  Woola  was  my  devoted  slave  from 
that  moment  hence,  and  I  his  only  and  undisputed 
master.  My  walk  to  the  hills  occupied  but  a  few 
minutes,  and  I  found  nothing  of  particular  interest 
to  reward  me.  Numerous  brilliantly  colored  and 
strangely  formed  wild  flowers  dotted  the  ravines 
and  from  the  summit  of  the  first  hill  I  saw  still 
other  hills  stretching  off  toward  the  north,  and 
rising,  one  range  above  another,  until  lost  in  moun 
tains  of  quite  respectable  dimensions;  though  I 
afterward  found  that  only  a  few  peaks  on  all  Mars 
exceed  four  thousand  feet  in  height;  the  suggestion 
of  magnitude  was  merely  relative. 

My  morning's  walk  had  been  large  with  impor 
tance  to  me  for  it  had  resulted  in  a  perfect  under 
standing  with  Woola,  upon  whom  Tars  Tarkas 

[92] 


CHAMPION  AND  CHIEF 


relied  for  my  safe  keeping.  I  now  knew  that  while 
theoretically  a  prisoner  I  was  virtually  free,  and 
I  hastened  to  regain  the  city  limits  before  the 
defection  of  Woola  could  be  discovered  by  his 
erstwhile  masters.  The  adventure  decided  me 
never  again  to  leave  the  limits  of  my  prescribed 
stamping  grounds  until  I  was  ready  to  venture 
forth  for  good  and  all,  as  it  would  certainly  result 
in  a  curtailment  of  my  liberties^  as  well  as  the 
probable  death  of  Woola,  were  we  to  be  dis 
covered. 

On  regaining  the  plaza  I  had  my  third  glimpse 
of  the  captive  girl.  She  was  standing  with  her 
guards  before  the  entrance  to  the  audience 
chamber,  and  as  I  approached  she  gave  me  one 
haughty  glance  and  turned  her  back  full  upon  me. 
The  act  was  so  womanly,  so  earthly  womanly, 
that  though  it  stung  my  pride  it  also  warmed  my 
heart  with  a  feeling  of  companionship ;  it  was  good 
to  know  that  some  one  else  on  Mars  beside  myself 
had  human  instincts  of  a  civilized  order,  even 
though  the  manifestation  of  them  was  so  painful 
and  mortifying. 

Had  a  green  Martian  woman  desired  to  show 
dislike  or  contempt  she  would,  in  all  likelihood, 
have  done  it  with  a  sword  thrust  or  a  movement 

[93] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


of  her  trigger  finger;  but  as  their  sentiments  are 
mostly  atrophied  it  would  have  required  a  serious 
injury  to  have  aroused  such  passions  in  them. 
Sola,  let  me  add,  was  an  exception;  I  never  saw 
her  perform  a  cruel  or  uncouth  act,  or  fail  in  uni 
form  kindliness  and  good  nature.  She  was  indeed, 
a.s  her  fellow  Martian  had  said  of  her,  an  atavism ; 
a  dear  and  precious  reversion  to  a  former  type 
of  loved  and  loving  ancestor. 

Seeing  that  the  prisoner  seemed  the  center  of 
attraction  I  halted  to  view  the  proceedings.  I 
had  not  long  to  wait  for  presently  Lorquas  Ptomel 
and  his  retinue  of  chieftains  approached  the  build 
ing  and,  signing  the  guards  to  follow  with  the 
prisoner,  entered  the  audience  chamber.  Realiz 
ing  that  I  was  a  somewhat  favored  character,  and 
also  convinced  that  the  warriors  did  not  know  of 
my  proficiency  in  their  language,  as  I  had  plead 
with  Sola  to  keep  this  a  secret  on  the  grounds  that 
I  did  not  wish  to  be  forced  to  talk  with  the  men 
until  I  had  perfectly  mastered  the  Martian  tongue, 
I  chanced  an  attempt  to  enter  the  audience 
chamber  and  listen  to  the  proceedings. 

The  council  squatted  upon  the  steps  of  the  ros 
trum,  while  below  them  stood  the  prisoner  and 
her  two  guards.  I  saw  that  one  of  the  women 

[94] 


CHAMPION  AND  CHIEF 


was  Sarkoja,  and  thus  understood  how  she  had 
been  present  at  the  hearing  of  the  preceding  day, 
the  results  of  which  she  had  reported  to  the  occu 
pants  of  our  dormitory  last  night.  Her  attitude 
toward  the  captive  was  most  harsh  and  brutal. 
When  she  held  her,  she  sunk  her  rudimentary  nails 
into  the  poor  girl's  flesh,  or  twisted  her  arm  in 
a  most  painful  manner.  When  it  was  necessary 
to  move  from  one  spot  to  another  she  either  jerked 
her  roughly,  or  pushed  her  headlong  b'efore  her. 
She  seemed  to  be  venting  upon  this  poor  defense 
less  creature  all  the  hatred,  cruelty,  ferocity,  and 
spite  of  her  nine  hundred  years,  backed  by  unguess- 
able  ages  of  fierce  and  brutal  ancestors. 

The  other  woman  was  less  cruel  because  she 
was  entirely  indifferent;  if  the  prisoner  "had  been 
left  to  her  alone*  and  fortunately  she  was  at  night, 
she  would  have  received  no  harsh  treatment,  nor, 
by  the  same  token  would  she  have  received  any 
attention  at  all. 

As  Lorquas  Ptomel  raised  his  eyes  to  address 
the  prisoner  they  fell  on  me  and  he  turned  to  Tars 
Tarkas  with  a  word,  and  gesture  of  rmpatience. 
Tars  Tarkas  made  some  reply  which  I  could  not 
catch,  but  which  caused  Lorquas  Ptomel  to  smile : 
after  which  they  paid  no  further  attention  to  me 

[95] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


"  What  is  your  name? "  asked  Lorquas  Ptomel, 
addressing  the  prisoner. 

"Dejah  Thoris,  daughter  of  Mors  Kajak  of 
Helium." 

"And  the  nature  of  your  expedition?"  He  con 
tinued. 

"It  was  a  purely  scientific  research  party  sent 
out  by  my  father's  father,  the  Jeddak  of  Helium, 
to  rechart  the  air  currents,  and  to  take  atmospheric 
density  tests,"  replied  the  fair  prisoner,  in  a  low, 
well  modulated  voice. 

"We  were  unprepared  for  battle,"  she  con 
tinued,  "  as  we  were  on  a  peaceful  mission,  as  our 
banners  and  the  colors  of  our  craft  denoted.  The 
work  we  were  doing  was  as  much  in  your  interests 
as  in  ours,  for  you  know  full  well  that  were  it  not 
for  our  labors  and  the  fruits  of  our  scientific 
operations  there  would  not  be  enough  air  or  water 
on  Mars  to  support  a  single  human  life.  For  ages 
we  have  maintained  the  air  and  water  supply  at 
practically  the  same  point  without  an  appreciable 
loss,  and  we  have  done  this  in  the  face  of  the 
brutal  and  ignorant  interference  of  you  green  men. 

"Why,  oh,  why  will  you  not  learn  to  live  in 
amity  with  your  fellows,  must  you  ever  go  on 
down  the  ages  to  your  final  extinction  but  little 

[96] 


CHAMPION  AND  CHIEF 


above  the  plane  of  the  dumb  brutes  that  serve  you ! 
A  people  without  written  language,  without  art, 
without  homes,  without  love ;  the  victims  of  eons 
of  the  horrible  community  idea.  Owning  every 
thing  in  common,  even  to  your  women  and  chil 
dren,  has  resulted  in  your  owning  nothing  in 
common.  You  hate  each  other  as  you  hate  all  else 
except  yourselves.  Come  back  to  the  ways  of  our 
common  ancestors,  come  back  to  the  light  of  kind 
liness  and  fellowship.  The  way  is  open  to  you, 
you  will  find  the  hands  of  the  red  men  stretched 
out  to  aid  you.  Together  we  may  do  still  more 
to  regenerate  our  dying  planet.  The  grand 
daughter  of  the  greatest  and  mightiest  of  the  red 
jeddaks  has  asked  you.  Will  you  come?" 

Lorquas  Ptomel  and  the  warriors  sat  looking 
silently  and  intently  at  the  young  woman  for  sev 
eral  moments  after  she  had  ceased  speaking. 
What  was  passing  in  their  minds  no  man  may 
know,  but  that  they  were  moved  I  truly  believe, 
and  if  one  man  high  among  them  had  been  strong 
enough  to  rise  above  custom,  that  moment  would 
have  marked  a  new  and  mighty  era  for  Mars. 

I  saw  Tars  Tarkas  rise  to  speak,  and  on  his 
face  was  such  an  expression  as  I  had  never  seen 
upon  the  countenance  of  a  green  Martian  warrior. 
[97] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


1$  bespoke  an  inward  and  mighty  battle  with  self, 
with  heredity,  with  age-old  custom,  and  as  he 
opened  his  mouth  to  speak,  a  look  almost  of 
benignity,  of  kindliness,  momentarily  lighted  up 
his  fierce  and  terrible  countenance. 

What  words  of  moment  were  to  have  fallen 
from  his  lips  were  never  spoken,  as  just  then  a 
young  warrior,  evidently  sensing  the  trend  of 
thought  among  the  older  men,  leaped  down  from 
the  steps  of  the  rostrum,  and  striking  the  frail 
captive  a  powerful  blow  across  the  face,  which 
felled  her  to  the  floor,  placed  his  foot  upon  her 
prostrate  form  and  turning  toward  the  assembled 
council  broke  into  peals  of  horrid,  mirthless 
laughter. 

For  an  instant  I  thought  Tars  Tarkas  would 
strike  him  dead,  nor  did  the  aspect  of  Lorquas 
Ptomel  augur  any  too  favorably  for  the  brute, 
but  the  mood  passed,  their  old  selves  reasserted 
their  ascendency,  and  they  smiled.  It  was  por 
tentous  however  that  they  did  not  laugh  aloud,  for 
the  brute's  act  constituted  a  side-splitting  witticism 
according  to  the  ethics  which  rule  green  Martian 
humor. 

That  I  have  taken  moments  to  write  down  a 
part  of  what  occurred  as  that  blow  fell  does  not 

[98] 


CHAMPION  AND  CHIEF 


signify  that  I  ^remained  inactive  for  any  such 
length  of  time.  I  think  I  must  have  sensed  some 
thing  of  what  was  coming,  for  I  realize  now  that 
I  was  crouched  as  for  a  spring  as  I  saw  the  blow 
aimed  at  her  beautiful,  upturned,  pleading  face, 
and  ere  the  hand  descended  I  was  halfway  across 
the  hall. 

Scarcely  had  his  hideous  laugh  rang  out  but 
once,  when  I  was  upon  him.  The  brute  was  twelve 
feet  in  height  and  armed  to  the  teeth,  but  I  believe 
that  I  could  have  accounted  for  the  whole  room 
ful  in  the  terrific  intensity  of  my  rage.  Springing 
upward,  I  struck  him  full  in  the  face  as  he  turned 
at  my  warning  cry  and  then  as  he  drew  his  short- 
sword  I  drew  mine  and  sprang  up  again,  upon  his 
breast,  hooking  one  leg  over  the  butt  of  his  pistol 
and  grasping  one  of  his  huge  tusks  with  my  left 
hand  while  I  delivered  blow  after  blow  upon  his 
enormous  chest. 

He  could  not  use  his  short-sword  to  advantage 
because  I  was  too  close  to  him,  nor  could  he  draw 
his  pistol,  which  he  attempted  to  do  in  direct  oppo 
sition  to  Martian  custom  which  says  that  you  may 
not  fight  a  fellow  warrior  in  private  combat  with 
any  other  than  the  weapon  with  which  you  are 
attacked.  In  fact  he  could  do  nothing  but  make  a 

[99] 


A  'PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


wild  and  futile  attempt  to  dislodge  me.  With  all 
his  immense  bulk  he  was  little  if  any  stronger  than 
I,  and  it  was  but  the  matter  of  a  moment  or  two 
before  he  sank,  bleeding  and  lifeless,  to  the  floor. 

Dejah  Thoris  had  raised  herself  upon  one  elbow 
and  was  watching  the  battle  with  wide,  staring 
eyes.  IWhen  I  had  regained  my  feet  I  raised  her 
in  my  arms  and  bore  her  to  one  of  the  benches  at 
the  side  of  the  room. 

'Again  no  Martian  interfered  with  me,  and  tear 
ing  a  piece  of  silk  from  my  cape  I  endeavored  to 
staunch  the  flow  of  blood  from  her  nostrils.  I 
was  soon  successful  as  her  injuries  amounted  to 
little  more  than  an  ordinary  nosebleed,  and  when 
she  could  speak  she  placed  her  hand  upon  my  arm 
and  looking  up  into  my  eyes,  said : 

"Why  did  you  it?  You  who  refused  me  even 
friendly  recognition  in  the  first  hour  of  my  peril ! 
And  now  you  risk  your  life  and  kill  one  of  your 
companions  for  my  sake.  I  cannot  understand. 
What  strange  manner  of  man  are  you,  that  you 
consort  with  the  green  men,  though  your  form 
is  that  of  my  race,  while  your  color  is  little  darker 
than  that  of  the  white  ape?  Tell  me,  are  you 
human,  or  are  you  more  than  human?" 

"  It  is  a  strange  tale,"  I  replied,  M  too  long  to 
[100] 


CHAMPION  AND  CHIEF 


attempt  to  tell  you  now,  and  one  which  I  so  much 
doubt  the  credibility  of  myself  that  I  fear  to  hope 
that  others  will  believe  it.  Suffice  it,  for  the 
present,  that  I  am  your  friend,  and,  so  far  as  our 
captors  will  permit,  your  protector  and  your 
servant." 

"Then  you  too  are  a  prisoner?  But  why,  then, 
those  arms  and  the  regalia  of  a  Tharkian 
chieftain?  What  is  your  name?  Where  your 
country?" 

"Yes,  Dejah  Thoris,  I  too  am  a  prisoner;  my 
name  is  John  Carter,  and  I  claim  Virginia,  one  of 
the  United  States  of  America  Earth,  as  my  home ; 
but  why  I  am  permitted  to  wear  arms  I  do  not 
know,  nor  was  I  aware  that  my  regalia  was  that 
of  a  chieftain." 

We  were  interrupted  at  this  juncture  by  the 
approach  of  one  of  the  warriors,  bearing  arms, 
accouterments  and  ornaments,  and  in  a  flash  one  ' 
of  her  questions  was  answered  and  a  puzzle  cleared 
up  for  me.  I  saw  that  the  body  of  my  dead  antag 
onist  had  been  stripped,  and  I  read  in  the  menacing 
yet  respectful  attitude  of  the  warrior  who  had 
brought  me  these  trophies  of  the  kill  the  same 
demeanor  as  that  evinced  by  the  other  who  had 
brought  me  my  original  equipment,  and  now  for 
["I] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


the  first  time  I  realized  that  my  blow,  on  the  occa 
sion  of  my  first  battle  in  the  audience  chamber  had 
resulted  in  the  death  of  my  adversary. 

The  reason  for  the  whole  attitude  displayed 
toward  me  was  now  apparent;  I  had  won  my  spurs, 
so  to  speak,  and  in  the  crude  justice,  which  always 
marks  Martian  dealings,  and  which,  among  other 
things,  has  caused  me  to  call  her  the  planet  of 
paradoxes,  I  was  accorded  the  honors  due  a  con 
queror;  the  trappings  and  the  position  of  the  man 
I  killed.  In  truth,  I  was  a  Martian  chieftain,  and 
this  I  learned  later  was  the  cause  of  my  great  free 
dom  and  my  toleration  in  the  audience  chamber. 

As  I  had  turned  to  receive  the  dead  warrior's 
chattels  I  had  noticed  that  Tars  Tarkas  and  sev 
eral  others  had  pushed  forward  toward  us,  and 
the  eyes  of  the  former  rested  upon  me  in  a  most 
quizzical  manner.  Finally  he  addressed  me : 

"You  speak  the  tongue  of  Barsoom  quite 
readily  for  one  who  was  deaf  and  dumb  to  us  a 
few  short  days  ago.  Where  did  you  learn  it,  John 
Carter?" 

"You,  yourself,  are  responsible,  Tars  Tarkas," 
I  replied,  "in  that  you  furnished  me  with  an 
instructress  of  remarkable  ability;  I  have  to  thanK 
Sola  for  my  learning." 

f  102] 


CHAMPION  AND  CHIEF 


"She  has  done  well,"  he  answered,  "but  your 
education  in  other  respects  needs  considerable 
polish.  Do  you  know  what  your  unprecedented 
temerity  would  have  cost  you  had  you  failed  to 
kill  either  of  the  two  chieftains  whose  metal  you 
now  wear?" 

"I  presume  that  that  one  whom  I  had  failed 
to  kill,  would  have  killed  me,"  I  answered,  smiling. 

11  No,  you  are  wrong.  Only  in  the  last  extremity 
of  self-defense  would  a  Martian  warrior  kill  a 
prisoner ;  we  like  to  save  them  for  other  purposes," 
and  his  face  bespoke  possibilities  that  were  not 
pleasant  to  dwell  upon. 

"But  one  thing  can  save  you  now,"  he  con 
tinued.  "Should  you,  in  recognition  of  your 
remarkable  valor,  ferocity,  and  prowess,  be  con 
sidered  by  Tal  Hajus  as  worthy  of  his  service  you 
may  be  taken  into  the  community  and  become  a 
full-fledged  Tharkian.  Until  we  reach  the  head 
quarters  of  Tal  Hajus  it  is  the  will  of  Lorquas 
Ptomel  that  you  be  accorded  the  respect  your 
acts  have  earned  you.  You  will  be  treated  by  us 
as  a  Tharkian  chieftain,  but  you  must  not  forget 
that  every  chief  who  ranks  you  is  responsible  for 
your  safe  delivery  to  our  mighty  and  most  fero 
cious  ruler.  I  am  done." 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


"I  hear  you,  Tars  Tarkas,"  I  answered.  "As 
you  know  I  am  not  of  Barsoom;  your  ways  are 
not  my  ways,  and  I  can  only  act  in  the  future  as 
I  have  Hi  the  past,  m  accordance  with  the  dictates 
of  my  conscience  and  guided  by  the  standards  of 
mine  own  people.  If  you  will  leave  me  alone  I 
will  go  in  peace,  but  if  not,  let  the  individual  Bar- 
soomians  with  whom  I  must  deal  either  respect 
my  rights  as  a  stranger  among  you,  or  take  what 
ever  consequences  may  befall.  Of  one  thiny  let 
us  be  sure,  whatever  may  be  your  ultimate  inten 
tions  toward  this  unfortunate  young  woman,  who 
ever  would  offer  her  injury  or  insult  in  the  future 
must  figure  on  making  a  full  accounting  to  me. 
I  understand  that  you  belittle  all  sentiments  of 
generosity  and  kindliness,  but  I  do  not,  and  I  can 
convince  your  most  doughty  warrior  that  these 
characteristics  are  not  incompatible  with  an  ability 
to  fight." 

Ordinarily  I  am  not  given  to  long  speeches, 
nor  ever  before  had  I  descended  to  bombast,  but 
I  had  guessed  at  the  keynote  which  would  strike 
an  answering  chord  in  the  breasts  of  the  green 
Martians,  nor  was  I  wrong,  for  my  harangue  evi 
dently  deeply  impressed  them,  and  their  attitude 
toward  me  thereafter  was  still  further  respectful. 
[104] 


CH'AMPION  'AND  CHIEF 


Tars  Tarkas  himself  seemed  pleased  with  my 
reply,  but  his  only  comment  was  more  or  less 
enigmatical — "And  I  think  I  know  Tal  Hajus, 
Jeddak  of  Thark." 

I  now  turned  my  attention  to  Dejah  Thoris., 
and  assisting  her  to  her  feet  I  turned  with  her 
toward  the  exit,  ignoring  her  hovering  guardian 
harpies  as  well  as  the  inquiring  glances  of  the 
chieftains.  Was  I  not  now  a  chieftain  also !  Well, 
then,  I  would  assume  the  responsibilities  of  one. 
They  did  not  molest  us,  and  so  Dejah  Thoris, 
Princess  of  Helium,  and  John  Carter,  gentleman 
of  Virginia,  followed  by  the  faithful  Woola, 
passed  through  utter  silence  from  the  audience 
chamber  of  Lorquas  Ptomel,  Jed  among  the 
Tharks  of  Barsoom. 


CHAPTER  XI 

WITH  DEJAH  THORIS 

AS  we  reached  the  open  the  two  female  guards 
-/JLwho  had  been  detailed  to  watch  over  Dejah 
Thoris  hurried  up  and  made  as  though  to  assume 
custody  of  her  once  more.  The  poor  child  shrank 
against  me  and  I  felt  her  two  little  hands  fold 
tightly  over  my  arm.  Waving  the  women  away, 
I  informed  them  that  Sola  would  attend  the  cap 
tive  hereafter,  and  I  further  warned  Sarkoja  that 
any  more  of  her  cruel  attentions  bestowed  upon 
Dejah  Thoris  would  result  in  Sarkoja's  sudden 
and  painful  demise. 

My  threat  was  unfortunate  and  resulted  in  more 
harm  than  good  to  Dejah  Thoris,  for,  as  I  learned 
later,  men  do  not  kill  women  upon  Mars,  nor 
women,  men.  So  Sarkoja  merely  gave  us  an  ugly 
look  and  departed  to  hatch  up  deviltries  against  us. 

I  soon  found  Sola  and  explained  to  her  that 

I  wished  her  to  guard  Dejah  Thoris  as  she  had 

guarded  me;  that  I  wished  her  to  find  other 

quarters  where  they  would  not  be  molested  hi" 

[106] 


WITH  DEJAH  THORIS 


Sarkoja,  and  I  finally  informed  her  that  I  myself 
would  take  up  my  quarters  among  the  men. 

Sola  glanced  at  the  accouterments  which  were 
carried  in  my  hand  and  slung  across  my  shoulder. 

"  You  are  a  great  chieftain  now,  John  Carter," 
she  said,  "and  I  must  do  your  bidding,  though 
indeed  I  am  glad  to  do  it  under  any  circumstances. 
The  man  whose  metal  you  carry  was  young,  but 
he  was  a  great  warrior,  and  had  by  his  promotions 
and  kills  won  his  way  close  to  the  rank  of  Tars 
Tarkas,  who,  as  you  know,  is  second  to  Lorquas 
Ptomel  only.  You  are  eleventh,  there  are  but  ten 
chieftains  in  this  community  who  rank  you  in 
prowess." 

"And  if  I  should  kill  Lorquas  Ptomel?"  I 
asked. 

"  You  would  be  first,  John  Carter;  but  you  may 
only  win  that  honor  by  the  will  of  the  entire  coun 
cil  that  Lorquas  Ptomel  meet  you  in  combat,  or 
should  he  attack  you,  you  may  kill  him  in  self- 
defense,  and  thus  win  first  place." 

I  laughed,  and  changed  the  subject.  I  had  no 
particular  desire  to  kill  Lorquas  Ptomel,  and  less 
to  be  a  jed  among  the  Tharks. 

I  accompanied  Sola  and  Dejah  Thoris  in  a 
search  for  new  quarters,  which  we  found  in  a  build- 
[107] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


ing  nearer  the  audience  chamber  and  of  far  more 
pretentious  architecture  than  our  former  habita 
tion.  We  also  found  in  this  building  real  sleeping 
apartments  with  ancient  beds  of  highly  wrought 
metal  swinging  from  enormous  gold  chains  depend 
ing  from  the  marble  ceilings.  The  decoration  of 
the  walls  was  most  elaborate,  and,  unlike  the 
frescoes  in  the  other  buildings  I  had  examined, 
portrayed  many  human  figures  in  the  compositions. 
These  were  of  people  like  myself,  and  of  a  much 
lighter  color  than  Dejah  Thoris.  They  were  clad 
in  graceful,  flowing  robes,  highly  ornamented  with! 
metal  and  jewels,  and  their  luxuriant  hair  was  of 
a  beautiful  golden  and  reddish  bronze.  The  men 
were  beardless  and  only  a  few  wore  arms.  The 
scenes  depicted  for  the  most  part,  a  fair-skinned, 
fair-haired  people  at  play. 

Dejah  Thoris  clasped  her  hands  with  an 
exclamation  of  rapture  as  she  gazed  upon  these 
magnificent  works  of  art,  wrought  by  a  people 
long  extinct;  while  Sola,  on  the  other  hand,  appar 
ently  did  not  see  them. 

We  decided  to  use  this  room,  on  the  second 

floor  and  overlooking  the  plaza,  for  Dejah  Thoris 

and  Sola,  and  another  room  adjoining  and  in  the 

rear  for  the  cooking  and  supplies.     I  then  dis- 

[108] 


WITH  DEJAH  THORIS 


patched  Sola  to  bring  the  bedding  and  such  food 
and  utensils  as  she  might  need,  telling  her  that 
I  would  guard  Dejah  Thoris  until  her  return. 

As  Sola  departed  Dejah  Thoris  turned  to  me 
with  a  faint  smile. 

"  And  whereto,  then,  would  your  prisoner  escape 
should  you  leave  her,  unless  it  was  to  follow  you 
and  crave  your  protection,  and  ask  your  pardon 
for  the  cruel  thoughts  she  has  harbored  against 
you  these  past  few  days?" 

"You  are  right,"  I  answered,  "there  is  no 
escape  for  either  of  us  unless  we  go  together." 

"  I  heard  your  challenge  to  the  creature  you  call 
Tars  Tarkas,  and  I  think  I  understand  your  posi 
tion  among  these  people,  but  what  I  cannot  fathom 
is  your  statement  that  you  are  not  of  Barsoom. 

"  In  the  name  of  my  first  ancestor,  then,"  she 
continued,  "where  may  you  be  from?  You  are 
like  unto  my  people,  and  yet  so  unlike.  You  speak 
my  language,  and  yet  I  heard  you  tell  Tars  Tarkas 
that  you  had  but  learned  it  recently.  All  Bar- 
soomians  speak  the  same  tongue  from  the  ice-clad 
south  to  the  ice-clad  north,  though  their  written 
languages  differ.  Only  in  the  valley  Dor,  where 
the  river  Iss  empties  into  the  lost  sea  of  Korus, 
is  there  supposed  to  be  a  different  language  spokeni 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


and,  except  in  the  legends  of  our  ancestors,  there 
is  no  record  of  a  Barsoomian  returning  up  the 
river  Iss,  from  the  shores  of  Korus  in  the  valley 
of  Dor.  Do  not  tell  me  that  you  have  thus 
returned !  They  would  kill  you  horribly  anywhere 
upon  the  surface  of  Barsoom  if  that  were  true; 
tell  me  it  is  not  I " 

Her  eyes  were  filled  with  a  strange,  weird  light; 
her  voice  was  pleading,  and  her  little  hands, 
reached  up  upon  my  breast,  were  pressed  against 
me  as  though  to  wring  a  denial  from  my  very 
heart. 

"I  do  not  know  your  customs,  Dejah  Thoris, 
but  in  my  own  Virginia  a  gentleman  does  not  lie 
to  save  himself;  I  am  not  of  Dor;  I  have  never 
seen  the  mysterious  Iss;  the  lost  sea  of  Korus  is 
still  lost,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned.  Do  you 
believe  me?" 

And  then  it  struck  me  suddenly  that  I  was  very 
anxious  that  she  should  believe  me.  It  was  not 
that  I  feared  the  results  which  would  follow  a 
general  belief  that  I  had  returned  from  the  Bar 
soomian  heaven  or  hell,  or  whatever  it  was.  Why 
was  it,  then  I  Why  should  I  care  what  she 
thought?  I  looked  down  at  her;  her  beautiful 
face  upturned,  and  her  wonderful  eyes  opening  up 
[no] 


WITH  DEJAH  THORIS 


the  very  depth  of  her  soul;  and  as  my  eyes  met 
hers  I  knew  why,  and — I  shuddered. 

A  similar  wave  of  feeling  seemed  to  stir  her; 
she  drew  away  from  me  with  a  sigh,  and  with  her 
earnest,  beautiful  face  turned  up  to  mine,  she  whis 
pered:  "I  believe  you,  John  Garter;  I  do  not 
know  what  a  *  gentleman'  is,  nor  have  I  ever 
heard  before  of  Virginia ;  but  on  Barsoom  no  man 
lies;  if  he  does  not  wish  to  speak  the  truth  he  is 
silent.  Where  is  this  Virginia,  your  country,  John 
Carter?"  she  asked,  and  it  seemed  that  this  fair 
name  of  my  fair  land  had  never  sounded  more 
beautiful  than  as  it  fell  from  those  perfect  lips  on 
that  far  gone  day. 

"I  am  of  another  world,"  I  answered,  "the 
great  planet  Earth,  which  revolves  about  our  com 
mon  sun  and  next  within  the  orbit  of  your  Barsoom, 
which  we  know  as  Mars.  How  I  came  here  I 
cannot  tell  you,  for  I  do  not  know;  hut  here  I  am, 
and  since  my  presence  has  permitted  me  to  serve 
Dejah  Thoris  I  am  glad  that  I  am  here." 

She  gazed  at  me  with  troubled  eyes,  long  and 
questioningly.  That  it  was  difficult  to  believe  my 
statement  I  well  knew,  nor  could  I  hope  that  she 
would  do  so  however  much  I  craved  her  confidence 
and  respect.  I  would  much  rather  not  have  f»ld 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


her  anything  of  my  antecedents,  but  no  man  could 
look  into  the  depth  of  those  eyes  and  refuse  her 
slightest  behest. 

Finally  she  smiled,  and,  rising,  said:  "I  shall 
have  to  believe  even  though  I  cannot  understand. 
I  can  readily  perceive  that  you  are  not  of  the 
Barsoom  of  today;  you  are  like  us,  yet  different — 
but  why  should  I  trouble  my  poor  head  with  such  a 
problem,  when  my  heart  tells  me  that  I  believe 
because  I  wish  to  believe ! " 

It  was  good  logic,  good,  earthly,  feminine  logic, 
and  if  it  satisfied  her  I  certainly  could  pick  no 
flaws  in  it.  As  a  matter  of  fact  it  was  about  the 
only  kind  of  logic  that  could  be  brought  to  bear 
upon  my  problem.  We  fell  into  a  general  con 
versation  then,  asking  and  answering  many  ques 
tions  on  each  side.  She  was  curious  to  learn  of 
the  customs  of  my  people  and  displayed  a  remark 
able  knowledge  of  events  on  earth.  When  I 
questioned  her  closely  on  this  seeming  familiarity 
with  earthly  things  she  laughed,  and  cried  out : 

"Why  every  school  boy  on  Barsoom  knows 
the  geography,  and  much  concerning  the  fauna 
and  flora,  as  well  as  the  history  of  your  planet 
fully  as  well  as  of  his  own.  Can  we  not  see  every 
thing  which  takes  place  upon  Earth,  as  you  call 
[112] 


WITH  DEJAH  THORIS 


it;  is  it  not  hanging  there  in  the  heavens  in  plain 
sight?" 

This  baffled  me,  I  must  confess,  fully  as  much 
as  my  statements  had  confounded  her;  and  I  told 
her  so.  She  then  explained  in  general  the  instru 
ments  her  people  had  used  and  been  perfecting 
for  ages,  .which  permit  them  to  throw  upon  a 
screen  a  perfect  image  of  what  is  transpiring  upon 
any  planet  and  upon  many  of  the  stars.  These 
pictures  are  so  perfect  in  detail  that,  when  photo 
graphed  and  enlarged,  objects  no  greater  than  a 
blade  of  grass  may  be  distinctly  recognized.  I 
afterward,  in  Helium,  saw  many  of  these  pic 
tures,  as  well  as  the  instruments  which  produced 
them. 

"If,  then,  you  are  so  familiar  with  earthly 
things,"  I  asked,  "  why  is  it  that  you  do  not  recog 
nize  me  as  identical  with  the  inhabitants  of  that 
planet?" 

She  smiled  again  as  one  might  in  bored  indul 
gence  of  a  questioning  child. 

"Because,  John  Carter,"  she  replied,  "nearly 
every  planet  and  star  having  atmospheric  condi 
tions  at  all  approaching  those  of  Bapsoom,  shows 
forms  of  animal  life  almost  identical  with  yo&  and 
me;  and,  further,  Earth  men,  almost  without 

["3] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


exception,  cover  their  bodies  with  strange,  un 
sightly  pieces  of  cloth,  and  their  heads  with 
hideous  contraptions  the  purpose  of  which  we  have 
been  unable  to  conceive;  while  you,  when  found 
by  the  Tharkian  warriors,  were  entirely  undis- 
figured  and  unadorned. 

"The  fact  that  you  wore  no  ornaments  is  a 
strong  proof  of  your  un-Barsoomian  origin,  while 
the  absence  of  grotesque  coverings  might  cause 
a  doubt  as  to  your  earthliness." 

I  then  narrated  the  details  of  my  departure  from 
the  Earth,  explaining  that  my  body  there  lay 
fully  clothed  in  all  the,  to  her,  strange  garments 
of  mundane  dwellers.  At  this  point  Sola  returned 
with  our  meager  belongings  and  her  young  Martian 
protege,  who,  of  course,  would  have  to  share  the 
quarters  with  them. 

Sola  asked  us  if  we  had  had  a  visitor  during^ 
her  absence,  and  seemed  much  surprised  when  we 
answered  in  the  negative.  It  seemed  that  as  she 
had  mounted  the  approach  to  the  upper  floors 
where  our  quarters  were  located,  she  had  met 
Sarkoja  descending.  We  decided  that  she  must 
have  been  eavesdropping,  but  as  we  could  recall 
nothing  of  importance  that  had  passed  between 
us  we  dismissed  the  matter  as  of  little  consequence , 


WITH  DEJAH  THORIS 


merely  promising  ourselves  to  be  warned  to  the 
utmost  caution  in  the  future. 

Dejah  Thoris  and  I  then  fell  to  examining  the 
architecture  and  decorations  of  the  beautiful 
chambers  of  the  building  we  were  occupying.  She 
told  me  that  these  people  had  presumably 
flourished  over  a  hundred  thousand  years  before. 
They  were  the  early  progenitors  of  her  race,  but 
had  mixed  with  the  other  great  race  of  early  Mar 
tians,  who  were  very  dark,  almost  black,  and  also 
with  the  reddish  yellow  race  which  had  flourished 
at  the  same  time. 

These  three  great  divisions  of  the  higher  Mar 
tians  had  been  forced  into  a  mighty  alliance  as 
the  drying  up  of  the  Martian  seas  had  compelled 
them  to  seek  the  comparatively  few  and  always 
diminishing  fertile  areas,  and  to  defend  them 
selves,  under  new  conditions  of  life,  against  the 
wild  hordes  of  green  men. 

Ages  of  close  relationship  and  intermarrying 
had  resulted  in  the  race  of  red  men,  of  which 
Dejah  Thoris  was  a  fair  and  beautiful  daughter. 
During  the  ages  of  hardships  and  incessant  war 
ring  between  their  own  various  races,  as  well  as 
with  the  green  men,  and  before  they  had  fitted 
themselves  to  the  changed  conditions,,  much  of  the 


'A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


high  civilization  and  many  of  the  arts  of  the  fair- 
haired  Martians  had  become  lost;  but  the  red  race 
of  today  has  reached  a  point  where  it  feels  that 
it  has  made  up  in  new  discoveries  and  in  a  more 
practical  civilization  for  all  that  lies  irretrievably 
buried  with  the  ancient  Barsoomians,  beneath  the 
countless  intervening  ages. 

These  ancient  Martians  had  been  a  highly  cul 
tivated  and  literary  race,  but  during  the  vicissi 
tudes  of  those  trying  centuries  of  readjustment  to 
new  conditions,  not  only  did  their  advancement 
and  production  cease  entirely,  but  practically  all 
their  archives,  records,  and  literature  were  lost. 

Dejah  Thoris  related  many  interesting  facts  and 
legends  concerning  this  lost  race  of  noble  and 
kindly  people.  She  said  that  the  city  in  which  we 
were  camping  was  supposed  to  have  been  a  center 
of  commerce  and  culture  known  as  Korad.  It  had 
been  built  upon  a  beautiful,  natural  harbor,  land 
locked  by  magnificent  hills.  The  little  valley  on 
the  west  front  of  the  city,  she  explained,  was  all 
that  remained  of  the  harbor,  while  the  pass 
through  the  hHls  to  the  old  sea  bottom  had  been 
the  channel  through  which  the  shipping  passed  up 
to  the  city's  gates. 

The  shores  of  the  ancient  seas  were  dotted  with 
[116] 


WITH  DEJAH  THORIS 


just  such  cities,  and  lesser  ones,  in  diminishing  num 
bers,  were  to  be  found  converging  toward  the 
center  of  the  oceans,  as  the  people  had  found  it 
necessary  to  follow  the  receding  waters  until  neces 
sity  had  forced  upon  them  their  ultimate  salvation, 
the  so-called  Martian  canals. 

We  had  been  so  engrossed  in  exploration  of  the 
building  and  in  our  conversation  that  it  was  late 
in  the  afternoon  before  we  realized  it.  We  were 
brought  back  to  a  realization  of  our  present  con 
ditions  by  a  messenger  bearing  a  summons  from 
Lorquas  Ptomel  directing  me  to  appear  before 
him  forthwith.  Bidding  Dejah  Thoris  and  Sola 
farewell,  and  commanding  Woola  to  remain  on 
guard,  I  hastened  to  the  audience  chamber,  where 
I  found  Lorquas  Ptomel  and  Tars  Tarkas  seated 
upon  the  rostrum. 


CHAPTER  XII 

A  PRISONER  WITH  POWER 

S  I  entered  and  saluted,  Lorquas  Ptomel  sig- 


naled  me  to  advance,  and,  fixing  his  great, 
hideous  eyes  upon  me,  addressed  me  thus : 

"  You  have  been  with  us  a  few  days,  yet  during 
that  time  you  have  by  your  prowess  won  a  high 
position  among  us.  Be  that  as  it  may,  you  are  not 
one  of  us ;  you  owe  us  no  allegiance. 

"Your  position  is  a  peculiar  one,"  he  con 
tinued  ;  "  you  are  a  prisoner  and  yet  you  give  com 
mands  which  must  be  obeyed;  you  are  an  alien 
and  yet  you  are  a  Tharkian  chieftain;  you  are  a 
midget  and  yet  you  can  kill  a  mighty  warrior  with 
one  blow  of  your  fist.  And  now  you  are  reported 
to  have  been  plotting  to  escape  with  another 
prisoner  of  another  race;  a  prisoner  who,  from 
her  own  admission,  half  believes  you  are  returned 
from  the  valley  of  Dor.  Either  one  of  these  accu 
sations,  if  proved,  would  be  sufficient  grounds  for 
your  execution,  but  we  are  a  just  people  and  you 
shall  have  a  trial  on  our  return  to  Thark,  if  Tal 
Hajus  so  commands. 

[118] 


A  PRISONER  WITH  POWER 

"  But,"  he  continued,  In  his  fierce  guttural  tones, 
"  if  you  run  off  with  the  red  girl  it  is  I  who  shall 
have  to  account  to  Tal  Hajus;  it  is  I  who  shall 
have  to  face  Tars  Tarkas,  and  either  demonstrate 
my  right  to  command,  or  the  metal  from  my  dead 
carcass  will  go  to  a  better  man,  for  such  is  the 
custom  of  the  Tharks. 

"  I  have  no  quarrel  with  Tars  Tarkas ;  together 
we  rule  supreme  the  greatest  of  the  lesser  com 
munities  among  the  green  men;  we  do  not  wish 
to  fight  between  ourselves;  and  so  if  you  were 
dead,  John  Carter,  I  should  be  glad.  Under  two 
conditions  only,  however,  may  you  be  killed  by 
us  without  orders  from  Tal  Hajus;  in  personal 
combat  in  self-defense,  should  you  attack  one  of 
us,  or  were  you  apprehended  in  an  attempt  to 
escape. 

"  As  a  matter  of  justice  I  must  warn  you  that 
we  only  await  one  of  these  two  excuses  for  ridding 
ourselves  of  so  great  a  responsibility.  The  safe 
delivery  of  the  red  girl  to  Tal  Hajus  is  of  the 
greatest  importance.  Not  in  a  thousand  years 
have  the  Tharks  made  such  a  capture;  she  is  the 
granddaughter  of  the  greatest  of  the  red  jeddaks, 
who  is  also  our  bitterest  enemy.  I  have  spoken. 
The  red  girl  told  us  that  we  were  without  the 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


softer  sentiments  of  humanity,  but  we  are  a  just 
and  truthful  race.  You  may  go." 

Turning,  I  left  the  audience  chamber.  So  this 
was  the  beginning  of  Sarkoja's  persecution  I  I 
knew  that  none  other  could  be  responsible  for  this 
report  which  had  reached  the  ears  of  Lorquas 
Ptomel  so  quickly,  and  now  I  recalled  those  por 
tions  of  our  conversation  which  had  touched  upon 
escape  and  upon  my  origin. 

Sarkoja  was  at  this  time  Tars  Tarkas'  oldest 
and  most  trusted  female.  As  such  she  was  a 
mighty  power  behind  the  throne,  for  no  warrior 
had  the  confidence  of  Lorquas  Ptomel  to  such  an 
extent  as  did  his  ablest  lieutenant,  Tars  Tarkas. 

However,  instead  of  putting  thoughts  of  pos 
sible  escape  from  my  mind,  my  audience  with 
Lorquas  Ptomel  only  served  to  center  my  every 
faculty  on  this  subject.  Now,  more  than  before, 
the  absolute  necessity  for  escape,  in  so  far  as  Dejah 
Thoris  was  concerned,  was  impressed  upon  me, 
for  I  was  convinced  that  some  horrible  fate 
awaited  her  at  the  headquarters  of  Tal  Hajus. 

As  described  by  Sola,  this  monster  was  the 

exaggerated  personification  of   all   the   ages   of 

cruelty,  ferocity,  and  brutality  from  which  he  had 

descended.     Cold,  cunning,  calculating;  he  was, 

[120] 


A  PRISONER  WITH  POWER 

also,  in  marked  contrast  to  most  of  his  fellows,- 
a  slave  to  that  brute  passion  which  the  waning 
demands  for  procreation  upon  their  dying  planet 
has  almost  stilled  in  the  Martian  breast. 

The  thought  that  the  divine  Dejah  Thoris  might 
fall  into  the  clutches  of  such  an  abysmal  atavism 
started  the  cold  sweat  upon  me.  Far  better  that 
we  save  friendly  bullets  for  ourselves  at  the  last 
moment,  as  did  those  brave  frontier  women  of  my 
lost  land,  who  took  their  own  lives  rather  than  fall 
into  the  hands  of  the  Indian  braves. 

As  I  wandered  about  the  plaza  lost  in  my 
gloomy  forebodings  Tars  Tarkas  approached  me 
on  his  way  from  the  audience  chamber.  His 
demeanor  toward  me  was  unchanged,  and  he 
greeted  me  as  though  we  had  not  just  parted  a  few 
moments  before. 

"Where  are  your  quarters,  John  Carter?"  he 
asked. 

"  I  have  selected  none,"  I  replied.  "  It  seemed 
best  that  I  quartered  either  by  myself  or  among 
the  other  warriors,  and  I  was  awaiting  an  oppor 
tunity  to  ask  your  advice.  As  you  know,"  and  I 
smiled,  "  I  am  not  yet  familiar  with  all  the  customs 
of  the  Tharks." 

"  Come  with  me,"  he  directed,  and  together 
[121] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


we  moved  off  across  the  plaza  to  a  building  which 
I  was  glad  to  see  adjoined  that  occupied  by  Sola 
and  her  charges. 

"  My  quarters  are  on  the  first  floor  of  this  build 
ing,"  he  said,  "and  the  second  floor  also  is  fully 
occupied  by  warriors,  but  the  third  floor  and  the 
floors  above  are  vacant;  you  may  take  your  choice 
of  these. 

"I  understand,"  he  continued,  "that  you  have 
given  up  your  woman  to  the  red  prisoner.  Well, 
as  you  have  said,  your  ways  are  not  our  ways, 
but  you  can  fight  well  enough  to  do  about  as  you 
please,  and  so,  if  you  wish  to  give  your  woman  to 
a  captive,  it  is  your  own  affair;  but  as  a  chieftain 
you  should  have  those  to  serve  you,  and  in 
.•accordance  with  our  customs  you  may  select  any 
•or  all  the  females  from  the  retinues  of  the  chief 
tains  whose  metal  you  now  wear." 

I  thanked  him,  but  assured  him  that  I  could  get 
along  very  nicely  without  assistance  except  in  the 
matter  of  preparing  food,  and  so  he  promised  to 
send  women  to  me  for  this  purpose  and  also  for 
the  care  of  my  arms  and  the  manufacture  of  my 
ammunition,  which  he  said  would  be  necessary.  I 
suggested  that  they  might  also  bring  some  of  the 
sleeping  silks  and  furs  which  belonged  to  me  as 
[122] 


A  PRISONER  WITH  POWER 

spoils  of  combat,  for  the  nights  were  cold  and  I 
had  none  of  my  own. 

He  promised  to  do  so,  and  departed.  Left 
alone,  I  ascended  the  winding  corridor  to  the  upper 
floors  in  search  of  suitable  quarters.  The  beauties 
of  the  other  buildings  were  repeated  in  this,  and, 
as  usual,  I  was  soon  lost  in  a  tour  of  investigation 
and  discovery. 

I  finally  chose  a  front  room  on  the  third  floor, 
because  this  brought  me  nearer  to  Dejah  Thoris, 
whose  apartment  was  on  the  second  floor  of  the 
adjoining  building,  and  it  flashed  upon  me  that 
I  could  rig  up  some  means  of  communication 
whereby  she  might  signal  me  in  case  she  needed 
either  my  services  or  my  protection. 

Adjoining  my  sleeping  apartment  were  baths, 
dressing  rooms,  and  other  sleeping  and  living 
apartments,  in  all  some  ten  rooms  on  this  floor. 
The  windows  of  the  back  rooms  overlooked  an 
enormous  court,  which  formed  the  center  of  the 
square  made  by  the  buildings  which  faced  the  four 
contiguous  streets,  and  which  was  now  given  over 
to  the  quartering  of  the  various  animals  belonging 
to  the  warriors  occupying  the  adjoining  buildings. 

While  the  court  was  entirely  overgrown  with 
the  yellow,  moss-like  vegetation  which  blankets 
[123] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


practically  the  entire  surface  of  Mars,  yet  numer 
ous  fountains,  statuary,  benches,  and  pergola-like 
contraptions  bore  witness  to  the  beauty  which  the 
court  must  have  presented  in  bygone  times,  when 
graced  by  the  fair-haired,  laughing  people  whom 
stern  and  unalterable  cosmic  laws  had  driven  not 
only  from  their  homes,  but  from  all  except  the 
vague  legends  of  their  descendants. 

One  could  easily  picture  the  gorgeous  foliage 
of  the  luxuriant  Martian  vegetation  which  once 
filled  this  scene  with  life  and  color;  the  graceful 
figures  of  the  beautiful  women,  the  straight  and 
handsome  men ;  the  happy  frolicking  children  —  all 
sunlight,  happiness  and  peace.  It  was  difficult  to 
realize  that  they  had  gone;  down  through  ages 
of  darkness,  cruelty,  and  ignorance,  until  their 
hereditary  instincts  of  culture  and  humanitarianism 
had  risen  ascendant  once  more  in  the  final  com 
posite  race  which  now  is  dominant  upon  Mars. 

My  thoughts  were  cut  short  by  the  advent  of 
several  young  females  bearing  loads  of  weapons, 
silks,  furs,  jewels,  cooking  utensils,  and  casks  of 
food  and  drink,  including  considerable  loot  from 
the  air  craft.  All  this,  it  seemed,  had  been  the 
property  of  the  two  chieftains  I  had  slain,  and 
now,  by  the  customs  of  the  Tharks,  it  had  become 


A  PRISONER  WITH  POWER 

mine.  At  my  direction  they  placed  the  stuff  in 
one  of  the  back  rooms,  and  then  departed,  only 
to  return  with  a  second  load,  which  they  advised 
me  constituted  the  balance  of  my  goods.  On  the 
second  trip  they  were  accompanied  by  ten  or  fifteen 
other  women  and  youths,  who,  it  seemed,  formed 
the  retinues  of  the  two  chieftains. 

They  were  not  their  families,  nor  their  wives, 
nor  their  servants;  the  relationship  was  peculiar, 
and  so  unlike  anything  known  to  us  that  it  is  most 
difficult  to  describe.  All  property  among  the  green 
Martians  is  owned  in  common  by  the  community, 
except  the  personal  weapons,  ornaments  and  sleep 
ing  silks  and  furs  of  the  individuals.  These  alone 
can  one  claim  undisputed  right  to,  nor  may  he 
accumulate  more  of  these  than  are  required  for  his 
actual  needs.  The  surplus  he  holds  merely  as  cus 
todian,  and  it  is  passed  on  to  the  younger  members 
of  the  community  as  necessity  demands. 

The  women  and  children  of  a  man's  retinue 
may  be  likened  to  a  military  unit  for  which  he  is 
responsible  in  various  ways,  as  in  matters  of 
instruction,  discipline,  sustenance,  and  the  exigen 
cies  of  their  continual  roamings  and  their  unending 
strife  with  other  communities  and  with  the  red 
Martians.  His  women  are  in  no  sense  wives. 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


The  green  Martians  use  no  word  corresponding 
in  meaning  with  this  earthly  word.  Their  mating 
i«  a  matter  of  community  interest  solely,  and  is 
directed  without  reference  to  natural  selection. 
The  council  of  chieftains  of  each  community 
control  the  matter  as  surely  as  the  owner  of  a 
Kentucky  racing  stud  directs  the  scientific  breed 
ing  of  his  stock  for  the  improvement  of  the  whole. 

In  theory  it  may  sound  well,  as  is  often  the  case 
with  theories,  but  the  results  of  ages  of  this 
unnatural  practice,  coupled  with  the  community 
interest  in  the  offspring  being  held  paramount  to 
that  of  the  mother,  is  shown  in  the  cold,  cruel 
creatures,  and  their  gloomy,  loveless,  mirthless 
existence. 

It  is  true  that  the  green  Martians  are  absolutely 
virtuous,  both  men  and  women,  with  the  exception 
of  such  degenerates  as  Tal  Hajus;  but  better  far 
a  finer  balance  of  human  characteristics  even  at 
the  expense  of  a  slight  and  occasional  loss  of 
chastity. 

Finding  that  I  must  assume  responsibility  for 
these  creatures,  whether  I  would  or  not,  I  made 
the  best  of  it  and  directed  them  to  find  quarters 
on  the  upper  floors,  leaving  the  third  floor  to  me. 
.One  of  the  girls  I  charged  with  the  duties  of  my 


A  PRISONER  WITH  POWER 

simple  cuisine,  and  directed  the  others  to  take  up 
the  various  activities  which  had  formerly  con 
stituted  their  vocations.  Thereafter  I  saw  little 
of  them,  nor  did  I  care  to. 

\ 


[127] 


F 


CHAPTER  XIII 

LOVE-MAKING  ON  MARS 

OLLOWING  the  battle  with  the  air  ships, 
the  community  remained  within  the  city  for 
several  days,  abandoning  the  homeward  march 
until  they  could  feel  reasonably  assured  that  the 
ships  would  not  return;  for  to  be  caught  on  the 
open  plains  with  a  cavalcade  of  chariots  and  chil 
dren  was  far  from  the  desire  of  even  so  warlike  a 
people  as  the  green  Martians. 

During  our  period  of  inactivity,  Tars  Tarkas 
had  instructed  me  in  many  of  the  customs  and  arts 
of  war  familiar  to  the  Tharks,  including  lessons  in 
riding  and  guiding  the  great  beasts  which  bore  the 
warriors.  These  creatures,  which  are  known  as 
thoats,  are  as  dangerous  and  vicious  as  their 
masters,  but  when  once  subdued  are  sufficiently 
tractable  for  the  purposes  of  the  green  Martians. 

Two  of  these  animals  had  fallen  to  me  from 
the  warriors  whose  metal  I  wore,  and  in  a  short 
time  I  could  handle  them  quite  as  well  as  the  native 
warriors.  The  method  was  not  at  all  complicated. 


LOVE-MAKING  ON  MARS 

If  the  thoats  did  not  respond  with  sufficient  celerity 
to  the  telepathic  instructions  of  their  riders  they 
were  dealt  a  terrific  blow  between  the  ears  with 
the  butt  of  a  pistol,  and  if  they  showed  fight  this 
treatment  was  continued  until  the  brutes  either 
were  subdued,  or  had  unseated  their  riders. 

In  the  latter  case  it  became  a  life  and  death 
struggle  between  the  man  and  the  beast.  If  the 
former  were  quick  enough  with  his  pistol  he  might 
live  to  ride  again,  though  upon  some  other  beast; 
if  not,  his  torn  and  mangled  body  was  gathered  up 
by  his  women  and  burned  in  accordance  with  Thar- 
kian  custom. 

My  experience  with  Woola  determined  me  to 
attempt  the  experiment  of  kindness  in  my  treat 
ment  of  my  tho-ats.  First  I  taught  them  that  they 
could  not  unseat  me,  and  even  rapped  them  sharply 
between  the  ears  to  impress  upon  them  my  author, 
jty  and  mastery.  Then,  by  degrees,  I  won  their 
confidence  in  much  the  same  manner  as  I  had 
adopted  countless  times  with  my  many  mundane 
mounts.  I  was  ever  a  good  hand  with  animals, 
and  by  inclination,  as  well  as  because  it  brought 
more  lasting  and  satisfactory  results,  I  was  always 
kind  and  humane  in  my  dealings  with  the  lower 
Orders,  I  could  take  a  human  life,  if  necessary, 
[129] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


with  far  less  compunction  than  that  of  a  poor, 
unreasoning,  irresponsible  brute. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  days  my  thoats  were  the 
wonder  of  the  entire  community.  They  would 
follow  me  like  dogs,  rubbing  their  great  snouts 
against  my  body  in  awkward  evidence  of  affection, 
and  respond  to  my  every  command  with  an  alacrity 
and  docility  which  caused  the  Martian  warriors 
to  ascribe  to  me  the  possession  of  some  earthly 
power  unknown  on  Mars. 

" How  have  you  bewitched  them? "  asked  Tars 
Tarkas  one  afternoon,  when  he  had  seen  me  run 
my  arm  far  between  the  great  jaws  of  one  of 
my  thoats  which  had  wedged  a  piece  of  stone 
between  two  of  his  teeth  while  feeding  upon  the 
moss-like  vegetation  within  our  court  yard. 

"By  kindness,"  I  replied.  "You  see,  Tars 
Tarkas,  the  softer  sentiments  have  their  value, 
even  to  a  warrior.  In  the  height  of  battle  as  well 
as  upon  the  march  I  know  that  my  thoats  will 
obey  my  every  command,  and  therefore  my  fight-, 
ing  efficiency  is  enhanced,  and  I  am  a  better  war 
rior  for  the  reason  that  I  am  a  kind  master.  Your 
other  warriors  would  find  it  to  the  advantage  of 
themselves  as  well  as  of  the  community  to  adopt 
my  methods  in  this  respect.  Only  a  few  days  since 


LOVE-MAKING  ON  MARS 

you,  yourself,  told  me  that  these  great  brutes,  by 
the  uncertainty  of  their  tempers,  often  were  the 
means  of  turning  victory  into  defeat,  since,  at  a 
crucial  moment,  they  might  elect  to  unseat  and  rend 
their  riders." 

"  Show  me  how  you  accomplish  these  results," 
was  Tars  Tarkas'  only  rejoinder. 

And  so  I  explained  as  carefully  as  I  could  the 
entire  method  of  training  I  had  adopted  with  my 
beasts,  and  later  he  had  me  repeat  it  before  Lor- 
quas  Ptomel  and  the  assembled  warriors.  That 
moment  marked  the  beginning  of  a  new  existence 
for  the  poor  thoats,  and  before  I  left  the  com 
munity  of  Lorquas  Ptomel  I  had  the  satisfaction 
of  observing  a  regiment  of  as  tractable  and  docile 
mounts  as  one  might  care  to  see.  The  effect  on 
the  precision  and  celerity  of  the  military  move 
ments  was  so  remarkable  that  Lorquas  Ptomel 
presented  me  with  a  massive  anklet  of  gold  from 
his  own  leg,  as  a  sign  of  his  appreciation  of  my 
service  to  the  horde. 

On  the  seventh  day  following  the  battle  with 
the  air  craft  we  again  took  up  the  march  toward 
Thark,  all  probability  of  another  attack  being 
deemed  remote  by  Lorquas  Ptomel. 

During  the  days  just  preceding  our  departure 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


I  had  seen  but  little  of  Dejah  Thoris,  as  I  had 
been  kept  very  busy  by  Tars  Tarkas  with  my  les 
sons  in  the  art  of  Martian  warfare,  as  well  as  in 
the  training  of  my  thoats.  The  few  times  I  had 
visited  her  quarters  she  had  been  absent,  walking 
upon  the  streets  with  Sola,  or  investigating  the 
buildings  in  the  near  vicinity  of  the  Plaza.  I  had 
warned  them  against  venturing  far  from  the  plaza 
for  fear  of  the  great  white  apes,  whose  ferocity 
I  was  only  too  well  acquainted  with.  However, 
since  Woola  accompanied  them  on  all  their  excur 
sions,  and  as  Sola  was  well  armed,  there  was  com 
paratively  little  cause  for  fear. 

On  the  evening  before  our  departure  I  saw  them 
approaching  along  one  of  the  great  avenues  which 
lead  into  the  plaza  from  the  east.  I  advanced  to 
meet  them,  and  telling  Sola  that  I  would  take  the 
responsibility  for  Dejah  Thoris'  safe  keeping,  I 
directed  her  to  return  to  her  quarters  on  some 
trivial  errand.  I  liked  and  trusted  Sola,  but  for 
some  reason  I  desired  to  be  alone  with  Dejah 
Thoris,  who  represented  to  me  all  that  I  had  left 
behind  upon  Earth  in  agreeable  and  congenial 
companionship.  There  seemed  bonds  of  mutual 
interest  between  us  as  powerful  as  though  we  had 
been  born  under  the  same  roof  rather  than  upon 


LOVE-MAKING  ON  MARS 

different  planets,  hurtling  through  space  some 
forty-eight  million  miles  apart. 

That  she  shared  my  sentiments  in  this  respect 
I  was  positive,  for  on  my  approach  the  look  of 
pitiful  hopelessness  left  her  sweet  countenance  to 
be  replaced  by  a  smile  of  joyful  welcome,  as  she 
placed  her  little  right  hand  upon  my  left  shoulder 
in  true  red  Martian  salute. 

"  Sarkoja  told  Sola  that  you  had  become  a  true 
Thark,"  she  said,  "and  that  I  would  now  see  no 
more  of  you  than  of  any  of  the  other  warriors." 

"Sarkoja  is  a  liar  of  the  first  magnitude,"  I 
replied,  "notwithstanding  the  proud  claim  of  the 
Tharks  to  absolute  verity." 

Dejah  Thoris  laughed. 

"  I  knew  that  even  though  you  became  a  member 
of  the  community  you  would  not  cease  to  be  my 
friend ;  *  A  warrior  may  change  his  metal,  but  not 
his  heart,7  as  the  saying  is  upon  Barsoom. 

"I  think  they  have  been  trying  to  keep  us 
apart,"  she  continued,  "for  whenever  you  have 
been  off  duty  one  of  the  older  women  of  Tars 
Tarkas'  retinue  has  always  arranged  to  trump  up 
some  excuse  to  get  Sola  and  me  out  of  sight.  They 
have  had  me  down  in  the  pits  below  the  buildings 
helping  them  mix  their  awful  radium  powder,  and 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


make  their  terrible  projectiles.  You  know  that 
these  have  to  be  manufactured  by  artificial  light, 
as  exposure  to  sunlight  always  results  in  an  explo 
sion.  You  have  noticed  that  their  bullets  explode 
when  they  strike  an  object?  Well,  the  opaque, 
outer  coating  is  broken  by  the  impact,  exposing  a 
glass  cylinder,  almost  solid,  in  the  forward  end  of 
which  is  a  minute  particle  of  radium  powder.  The 
moment  the  sunlight,  even  though  diffused,  strikes 
this  powder  it  explodes  with  a  violence  which 
nothing  can  withstand.  If  you  ever  witness  a 
night  battle  you  will  note  the  absence  of  these 
explosions,  while  the  morning  following  the  battle 
will  be  filled  at  sunrise  with  the  sharp  detonations 
of  exploding  missiles  fired  the  preceding  night. 
As  a  rule,  however,  non-exploding  projectiles  are 
used  at  night."  l 

While  I  was  much  interested  in  Dejah  Thoris' 
explanation  of  this  wonderful  adjunct  to  Martian 
warfare,  I  was  more  concerned  by  the  immediate 
problem  of  their  treatment  of  her.  That  they 
were  keeping  her  away  from  me  was  not  a  matter 

1 1  have  used  (he  word  radium  in  describing  this  powder 
because  in  the  light  of  recent  discoveries  on  Earth  I  believe  it 
to  be  a  mixture  of  which  radium  is  the  base.  In  Captain  Carter's 
manuscript  it  is  mentioned  always  by  the  name  used  in  the  written 
language  of  Helium  and  is  spelled  in  hieroglyphics  which  it 
would  be  difficult  and  useless  to  reproduce. 

[134] 


LOVE-MAKING  ON  MARS 

for  surprise,  but  that  they  should  subject  her  to 
dangerous  and  arduous  labor  filled  me  with  rage. 

"Have  they  ever  subjected  you  to  cruelty  and 
ignominy,  Dejah  Thoris?"  I  asked,  feeling  the 
hot  blood  of  my  fighting  ancestors  leap  in  my  veins 
as  I  awaited  her  reply. 

"Only  in  little  ways,  John  Carter,"  she 
answered.  "Nothing  that  can  harm  me  outside 
my  pride.  They  know  that  I  am  the  daughter  of 
ten  thousand  jeddaks,  that  I  trace  my  ancestry 
straight  back  without  a  break  to  the  builder  of 
the  first  great  waterway,  and  they,  who  do  not  even 
know  their  own  mothers,  are  jealous  of  me.  At 
heart  they  hate  their  horrid  fates,  and  so  wreak 
their  poor  spite  on  me  who  stand  for  everything 
they  have  not,  and  for  all  they  most  crave  and 
never  can  attain.  Let  us  pity  them,  my  chieftain, 
for  even  though  we  die  at  their  hands  we  can 
afford  them  pity,  since  we  are  greater  than  they 
and  they  know  it." 

Had  I  known  the  significance  of  those  words 
"my  chieftain,"  as  applied  by  a  red  Martian 
woman  to  a  man,  I  should  have  had  the  surprise 
of  my  life,  but  I  did  not  know  at  that  time,  nor 
for  many  months  thereafter.  Yes,  I  still  had 
much  to  learn  upon  Barsoom. 

[135] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


"  I  presume  it  is  the  better  part  of  wisdom  that 
we  bow  to  our  fate  with  as  good  grace  as  pos 
sible,  Dejah  Thoris;  but  I  hope,  nevertheless,  that 
I  may  be  present  the  next  time  that  any  Martian, 
green,  red,  pink,  or  violet,  has  the  temerity  to 
even  so  much  as  frown  on  you,  my  princess." 

Dejah  Thoris  caught  her  breath  at  my  last 
words,  and  gazed  upon  me  with  dilated  eyes  and 
quickening  breath,  and  then,  with  an  odd  little 
laugh,  which  brought  roguish  dimples  to  the  cor 
ners  of  her  mouth,  she  shook  her  head  and  cried: 

"What  a  child!  A  great  warrior  and  yet  a 
stumbling  little  child." 

"What  have  I  done  now?"  I  asked,  in  sore 
perplexity. 

"Some  day  you  shall  know,  John  Carter,  if  we 
live ;  but  I  may  not  tell  you.  And  I,  the  daughter 
of  Mors  Kajak,  son  of  Tardos  Mors,  have  listened 
without  anger,"  she  soliloquized  in  conclusion. 

Then  she  broke  out  again  into  one  of  her  gay, 
happy,  laughing  moods;  joking  with  me  on  my 
prowess  as  a  Thark  warrior  as  co-ntrasted  with 
my  soft  heart  and  natural  kindliness. 

"  I  presume  that  should  you  accidentally  wound 
an  enemy  you  would  take  him  home  and  nurse  him 
back  to  health,"  she  laughed. 
[136] 


LOVE-MAKING  ON  MARS 

"That  is  precisely  what  we  do  on  Earth,"  I 
answered.  "At  least  among  civilized  men." 

This  made  her  laugh  again.  She  could  not 
understand  it,  for,  with  all  her  tenderness  and 
womanly  sweetness,  she  was  still  a  Martian,  and 
to  a  Martian  the  only  good  enemy  is  a  dead  enemy; 
for  every  dead  foeman  means  so  much  more  to 
divide  between  those  who  live. 

I  was  very  curious  to  know  what  I  had  said  or 
done  to  cause  her  so  much  perturbation  a  moment 
before  and  so  I  continued  to  importune  her  to 
enlighten  me. 

"No,"  she  exclaimed,  "it  is  enough  that  you 
have  said  it  and  that  I  have  listened.  And  when 
you  learn,  John  Carter,  and  if  I  be  dead,  as  likely 
enough  I  shall  be  ere  the  further  moon  has  circled 
Barsoom  another  twelve  times,  remember  that  I 
listened  and  that  I  —  smiled." 

It  was  all  Greek  to  me,  but  the  more  I  begged 
her  to  explain  the  more  positive  became  her 
denials  of  my  request,  and,  so,  in  very  hopeless 
ness,  I  desisted. 

Day  had  now  given  away  to  night  and  as  we 

wandered  along  the  great  avenue  lighted  by  the 

two  moons  of  Barsoom,  and  with  Earth  looking 

down  upon  us  out  of  her  luminous  green  eye,  it 

[137] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


seemed  that  we  were  alone  in  the  universe,  and  I, 
at  least,  was  content  that  it  should  be  so. 

The  chill  of  the  Martian  night  was  upon  us, 
and  removing  my  silks  I  threw  them  across  the 
shoulders  of  Dejah  Thoris.  As  my  arm  rested 
for  an  instant  upon  her  I  felt  a  thrill  pass  through 
every  fiber  of  my  being  such  as  contact  with  no 
other  mortal  had  even  produced;  and  it  seemed  to 
me  that  she  had  leaned  slightly  toward  me,  but 
of  that  I  was  not  sure.  Only  I  knew  that  as  my 
arm  rested  there  across  her  shoulders  longer  than 
the  act  of  adjusting  the  silk  required  she  did  not 
draw  away,  nor  did  she  speak.  And  so,  in  silence, 
we  walked  the  surface  of  a  dying  world,  but  in 
the  breast  of  one  of  us  at  least  had  been  born  that 
which  is  ever  oldest,  yet  ever  new. 

I  loved  Dejah  Thoris.  The  touch  of  my  arm 
upon  her  naked  shoulder  had  spoken  to  me  in 
words  I  could  not  mistake,  and  I  knew  that  I  had 
loved  her  since  the  first  moment  that  my  eyes  had 

met  hers  that  first  time  in  the  plaza  of  the  dead 
I  • 

city  of  Korad. 


I  SOUGHT  OUT  DEJAH  THORIS  IN  THE  THRONG  OF  DEPARTING 


CHARIOTS. 


Page  142 


M 


CHAPTER  XIV 

A  DUEL  TO  THE  DEATH 

Y  first  impulse  was  to  tell  her  of  my  love, 
and  then  I  thought  of  the  helplessness  of 
her  position  wherein  I  alone  could  lighten  the 
burdens  of  her  captivity,  and  protect  her  in  my 
poor  way  against  the  thousands  of  hereditary  ene 
mies  she  must  face  upon  our  arrival  at  Thark.  I 
could  not  chance  causing  her  additional  pain  or 
sorrow  by  declaring  a  love  which,  in  all  probability 
she  oHd  not  return.  Should  I  be  so  indiscreet,  her 
position  would  be  even  more  unbearable  than  now, 
and  the  thought  that  she  might  feel  that  I  was 
taking  advantage  of  her  helplessness,  to  influence 
her  decision  was  the  final  argument  which  sealed 
my  lips. 

"Why  are  you  so  quiet,  Dejah  Thoris?"  I 
asked.  "  Possibly  you  would  rather  return  to  Sola 
and  your  quarters." 

"No,"  she  murmured,  "I  am  happy  here.  I 
do  not  know  why  it  is  that  I  should  always  be 
happy  and  contented  when  you,  John  Carter,  a 
[139] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


stranger,  are  with  me;  yet  at  such  times  it  seems 
that  I  am  safe  and  that,  with  you,  I  shall  soon 
return  to  my  father's  court  and  feel  his  strong 
arms  about  me  and  my  mother's  tears  and  kisses 
on  my  cheek." 

"Do  people  kiss,  then,  upon  Barsoom?"  I 
asked,  when  she  had  explained  the  word  she  used, 
in  answer  to  my  inquiry  as  to  its  meaning. 

"Parents,  brothers,  and  sisters,  yes;  and,"  she 
added  in  a  low,  thoughtful  tone,  "  lovers." 

"And  you,  Dejah  Thoris,  have  parents  and 
brothers  and  sisters?" 

"Yes." 

"And  a— lover?" 

She  was  silent,  nor  could  I  venture  to  repeat 
the  question. 

"The  man  of  Barsoom,"  she  finally  ventured, 
"  does  not  ask  personal  questions  of  women,  except 
his  mother,  and  the  woman  he  has  fought  for  and 
won." 

"But  I  have  fought — "  I  started,  and  then  I 
wished  my  tongue  had  been  cut  from  my  mouth; 
for  she  turned  even  as  I  caught  myself  and  ceased, 
and  drawing  my  silks  from  her  shoulder  she  held 
them  out  to  me,  and  without  a  word,  and  with  head 
held  high,  she  moved  with  the  carriage  of  the 
[140] 


A  DUEL  TO  THE  DEATH 

queen  she  was  toward  the  plaza  and  the  doorway 
of  her  quarters. 

I  did  not  attempt  to  follow  her,  other  than  to 
ysee  that  she  reached  the  building  in  safety,  but, 
directing  Woola  to  accompany  her,  I  turned  dis 
consolately  and  entered  my  own  house.  I  sat  for 
hours  cross-legged,  and  cross-tempered,  upon  my 
silks  meditating  upon  the  queer  freaks  chance  plays 
upon  us  poor  devils  of  mortals. 

So  this  was  love !  I  had  escaped  it  for  all  the 
years  I  had  roamed  the  five  continents  and  their 
encircling  seas;  in  spite  of  beautfful  women  and 
urging  opportunity;  in  spite  of  a  half-desire  for 
love  and  a  constant  search  for  my  ideal,  it  had 
remained  for  me  to  fall  furiously  and  hopelessly 
in  love  with  a  creature  from  another  world,  of  a 
species  similar  possibly,  yet  not  identical  with  mine. 
[A.  woman  who  was  hatched  from  an  egg,  and 
whose  span  of  life  might  cover  a  thousand  years; 
whose  people  had  strange  customs  and  ideas;  a 
woman  whose  hopes,  whose  pleasures,  whose 
standards  of  virtue  and  of  right  and  wrong  might 
vary  as  greatly  from  mine  as  did  those  of  the 
green  Martians. 

Yes,  I  was  a  fool,  but  I  was  in  love,  and  though 
I  was  suffering  the  greatest  misery  I  had  ever 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


known  I  would  not  have  had  it  otherwise  for  all 
the  riches  of  Barsoom,  Such  is  love,  and  such 
are  lovers  wherever  love  is  known. 

To  me,  Dejah  Thoris  was  all  that  was  perfect; 
all  that  was  virtuous  and  beautiful  and  noble 
and  good.  I  believed  that  from  the  bottom  of 
my  heart,  from  the  depth  of  my  soul  on  that  night 
in  Korad  as  I  sat  cross-legged  upon  my  silks  while 
the  nearer  moon  of  Barsoom  raced  through  the 
western  sky  toward  the  horizon,  and  lighted  up 
the  gold  and  marble,  and  jeweled  mosaics  of  my 
world-old  chamber,  and  I  believe  it  today  as  I  sit 
at  my  desk  in  the  little  study  overlooking  the  Hud 
son.  Twenty  years  have  intervened;  for  ten  of 
them  I  lived  and  fought  for  Dejah  Thoris  and 
her  people,  and  for  ten  I  have  lived  upon  her  mem 
ory. 

The  morning  of  our  departure  for  Thark 
dawned  clear  and  hot,  as  do  all  Martian  morn-1 
ings  except  for  the  six  weeks  when  the  snow  melts 
at  the  poles. 

I  sought  out  Dejah  Thoris  in  the  throng  of 
departing  chariots,  but  she  turned  her  shoulder  to 
me,  and  I  could  see  the  red  blood  mount  to  her 
cheek.  With  the  foolish  inconsistency  of  love  I 
held  my  peace  when  I  might  have  plead  ignorance 


A  DUEL  TO  THE  DEATH 

of  the  nature  of  my  offense,  or  at  least  the  gravity 
oT  it,  and  so  have  effected,  at  worst,  a  half  con 
ciliation. 

My  duty  dictated  that  I  must  see  that  she  was 
comfortable,  and  so  I  glanced  into  her  chariot  and 
rearranged  her  silks  and  furs.  In  doing  so  I  noted 
with  horror  that  she  was  heavily  chained  by  one 
ankle  to  the  side  of  the  vehicle. 

"What  does  this  mean?"  I  cried,  turning  to 
Sola. 

"Sarkoja  thought  it  best,"  she  answered,  her 
face  betokening  her  disapproval  of  the  procedure. 

Examining  the  manacles  I  saw  that  they  fastened 
with  a  massive  spring  lock. 

"  Where  is  the  key,  Sola  ?    Let  me  have  it." 

"Sarkoja  wears  it,  John  Carter,"  she  answered. 

I  turned  without  further  word  and  sought  out 
Tars  Tarkas,  to  whom  I  vehemently  objected  to 
the  unnecessary  humiliations  and  cruelties,  as  they 
seemed  to  my  lover's  eyes,  that  were  being  heaped 
upon  Dejah  Thoris. 

I  "John  Carter,"  he  answered,  "if  ever  you  and 
Dejah  Thoris  escape  the  Tharks  it  will  be  upon 
this  journey.  We  know  that  you  will  not  go  with 
out  her.  You  _have  shown  yourself  a  mighty 
fighter,  and  we  do  not  wish  to  manacle  you,  so  we 

[143] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


hold  you  both  in  the  easiest  way  that  will  yet 
ensure  security.  I  have  spoken." 

I  saw  the  strength  of  his  reasoning  at  a  flash, 
and  knew  that  it  were  futile  to  appeal  from  his 
decision,  but  I  asked  that  the  key  be  taken  from 
Sarkoja  and  that  she  be  directed  to  leave  the 
prisoner  alone  in  future. 

"This  much,  Tars  Tarkas,  you  may  do  for  me 
in  return  for  the  friendship  that,  I  must  confess, 
I  feel  for  you." 

"Friendship?"  he  replied.  "There  is  no  such 
thing,  John  Carter;  but  have  your  will.  I  shall 
direct  that  Sarkoja  cease  to  annoy  the  girl,  and  I 
myself  will  take  the  custody  of  the  key." 

"Unless  you  wish  me  to  assume  the  respon 
sibility,"  I  said,  smiling. 

He  looked  at  me  long  and  earnestly  before  he 
spoke. 

u  Were  you  to  give  me  your  word  that  neither 
you  nor  Dejah  Thoris  would  attempt  to  escape 
until  after  we  have  safely  reached  the  court  of 
Tal  Hajus  you  might  have  the  key  and  throw  the 
chains  into  the  river  Iss." 

"It  were  better  that  you  held  the  key,  Tars 
Tarkas,"  I  replied. 

He  smiled,  and  said  no  more,  buf  that  night 
[144] 


A  DUEL  TO  THE  DEATH 

as  we  were  making  camp  I  saw  him  unfasten 
Dejah  Thoris'  fetters  himself. 

With  all  his  cruel  ferocity  and  coldness  there 
was  an  undercurrent  of  something  in  Tars  Tarkas 
which  he  seemed  ever  battling  to  subdue.  Could 
it  be  a  vestige  of  some  human  instinct  come  back 
from  an  ancient  forbear  to  haunt  him  with  the 
horror  of  his  people's  ways ! 

As  I  was  approaching  Dejah  Thoris'  chariot  I 
passed  Sarkoja,  and  the  black,  venomous  look  she 
accorded  me  was  the  sweetest  balm  I  had  felt  for 
many  hours.  Lord,  how  she  hated  me !  It  bristled 
from  her  so  palpably  that  one  might  almost  have 
cut  it  with  a  sword. 

A  few  moments  later  I  saw  her  deep  in  conver 
sation  with  a  warrior  named  Zad;  a  big,  hulking, 
powerful  brute,  but  one  who  had  never  made  a 
kill  among  his  own  chieftains,  and  so  was  still 
an  o  mad,  or  man  with  one  name;  he  could  win 
a  second  name  only  with  the  metal  of  some  chief 
tain.  It  was  this  custom  which  entitled  me  to  the 
names  of  either  of  the  chieftains  I  had  killed;  in 
fact,  some  of  the  warriors  addressed  me  as  Dotar 
Sojat,  a  combination  of  the  surnames  of  the  two 
warrior  chieftains  whose  metal  I  had  taken,  or, 
in  other  wo'rds,  whom  I  had  slain  in  fair  fight 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


As  Sarkoja  talked  with  Zad  he  cast  occasional 
glances  in  my  direction,  while  she  seemed  to  be 
urging  him  very  strongly  to  some  action.  I  paid 
little  attention  to  it  at  the  time,  but  the  next  day 
I  had  good  reason  to  recall  the  circumstances,  and 
at  the  same  time  gain  a  slight  insight  into  the 
depths  of  Sarkoja's  hatred  and  the  lengths  to 
which  she  was  capable  of  going  to  wreak  her  horrid 
vengeance  on  me. 

Dejah  Thoris  would  have  none  of  me  again 
on  this  evening,  and  though  I  spoke  her  name  she 
neither  replied,  nor  conceded  by  so  much  as  the 
flutter  of  an  eyelid  that  she  realized  my  existence. 
In  my  extremity  I  did  what  most  other  lovers  would 
have  done ;  I  sought  word  from  her  through  an  inti 
mate.  In  this  instance  it  was  Sola  whom  I  inter 
cepted  in  another  part  of  camp. 

"What  is  the  matter  with  Dejah  Thoris?"  I 
blurted  out  at  her.  "Why  will  she  not  speak 
tome?" 

Sola  stemed  puzzled  herself,  as  though  such 
strange  actions  on  the  part  of  two  humans  were 
quite  beyond  her,  as  indeed  they  were,  poor  child. 

"She  says  you  have  angered  her,  and  that  is 
all  she  will  say,  except  that  she  is  the  daughter  of 
a  jed  and  the  granddaughter  of  a  jeddak  and  she 


A  DUEL  TO  THE  DEATH 

has  been  humiliated  by  a  creature  who  could  not 
polish  the  teeth  of  her  grandmother's  sorak." 

I  pondered  over  this  report  for  some  time,  finally 
asking, 

"  What  might  a  sorak  be,  Sola  ?  " 

"  A  little  animal  about  as  big  as  my  hand,  which 
the  red  Martian  women  keep  to  play  with,"  ex 
plained  Sola. 

Not  fit  to  polish  the  teeth  of  her  grandmother's 
cat  I  I  must  rank  pretty  low  in  the  consideration 
of  Dejah  Thoris,  I  thought;  but  I  could  not  help 
laughing  at  the  strange  figure  of  speech,  so  homely 
and  in  this  respect  so  earthly.  It  made  me  home 
sick,  for  it  sounded  very  much  like  "not  fit  to 
polish  her  shoes."  And  then  commenced  a  train 
of  thought  quite  new  to  me.  I  began  to  wonder 
what  my  people  at  home  were  doing.  I  had  not 
seen  them  for  years.  There  was  a  family  of  Car 
ters  in  Virginia  who  claimed  close  relationship 
with  me;  I  was  supposed  to  be  a  great  uncle,  or 
something  of  the  kind  equally  foolish.  I  could 
pass  anywhere  for  twenty-five  to  thirty  years  of 
age,  and  to  be  a  great  uncle  always  seemed  the 
height  of  incongruity,  for  my  thoughts  and  feel 
ings  were  those  of  a  boy.  There  were  two  little 
kiddies  in  the  Carter  family  whom  I  had  loved  and 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


who  had  thought  there  was  no  one  on  Earth  like 
Uncle  Jack;  I  could  see  them  just  as  plainly,  as  I 
stood  there  under  the  moonlit  'skies  of  Barsoom, 
and  I  longed  for  them  as  I  had  never  longed  for 
any  mortals  before.  By  nature  a  wanderer,  I  had 
never  known  the  true  meaning  of  the  word  home, 
but  the  great  hall  of  the  Carters  had  always  stood 
for  all  that  the  word  did  mean  to  me,  and  now 
my  heart  turned  toward  it  from  the  cold  and 
unfriendly  peoples  I  had  been  thrown  amongst. 
For  did  not  even  Dejah  Thoris  despise  me-!  I 
was  a  low  creature,  so  low  in  fact  that  I  was  not 
even  fit  to  polish  the  teeth  of  her  grandmother's 
cat;  and  then  my  saving  sense  of  humor  came  to 
my  rescue,  and  laughing  I  turned  into  my  silks 
and  furs  and  slept  upon  the  moon-haunted  ground 
the  sleep  of  a  tired  and  healthy  fighting  man. 

We  broke  camp  the  next  day  at  an  early  hour 
and  marched  with  only  a  single  halt  until  just 
before  dark.  Two  incidents  broke  the  tedious- 
ness  of  the  march.  About  noon  we  espied  far  to 
our  right  what  was  evidently  an  incubator,  and 
Lorquas  Ptomel  directed  Tars  Tarkas  to  investi 
gate  it.  The  latter  took  a  dozen  warriors,  includ 
ing  myself,  and  we  raced  across  the  vdvety  car 
peting  of  moss  to  the  little  enclosure. 
[148] 


A  DUEL  TO  THE  DEATH 

It  was  indeed  an  incubator,  but  the  eggs  were 
very  small  in  comparison  with  those  I  had  seen 
hatching  in  ours  at  the  time  of  my  arrival  on  Mars. 

Tars  Tarkas  dismounted  and  examined  the 
inclosure  minutely,  finally  announcing  that  it 
belonged  to  the  green  men  of  Warhoon  and  that 
the  cement  was  scarcely  dry  where  it  had  been 
walled  up. 

"  They  cannot  be  a  day's  march  ahead  of  us," 
he  exclaimed,  the  light  of  battle  leaping  to  his 
fierce  face. 

The  work  at  the  incubator  was  short  indeed. 
The  warriors  tore  open  the  entrance  and  a  couple 
of  them,  crawling  in,  soon  demolished  all  the  eggs 
with  their  short-swords.  Then  remounting  we 
dashed  back  to  join  the  cavalcade.  During  the 
ride  I  took  occasion  to  ask  Tars  Tarkas  if  these 
Warhoons  whose  eggs  we  had  destroyed  were  a 
smaller  people  than  his  Tharks. 

"  I  noticed  that  their  eggs  were  so  much  smaller 
than  those  I  saw  hatching  in  your  incubator,"  I 
added. 

He  explained  that  the  eggs  had  just  been  placed 
there ;  but,  like  all  green  Martian  eggs,  they  would 
grow  during  the  five-year  period  of  incubation 
until  they  obtained  the  size  of  those  I  had  seen 

CH9] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


hatching  on  the  day  of  my  arrival  on  Barsoom. 
This  was  indeed  an  interesting  piece  of  informa 
tion,  for  it  had  always  seemed  remarkable  to  me 
that  the  green  Martian  women,  large  as  they  were, 
could  bring  forth  such  enormous  eggs  as  I  had 
seen  the  four-foot  infants  emerging  from.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  new-laid  egg  is  but  little  larger 
than  an  ordinary  goose  egg,  and  as  it  does  not 
commence  to  grow  until  subjected  to  the  light  of 
the  sun  the  chieftains  have  little  difficulty  in  trans 
porting  several  hundreds  of  them  at  one  time  from 
the  storage  vaults  to  the  incubators. 

Shortly  after  the  incident  of  the  Warhoon  eggs 
we  halted  to  rest  the  animals,  and  it  was  during 
this  halt  that  the  second  of  the  day's  interesting 
episodes  occurred.  I  was  engaged  in  changing 
my  riding  cloths  from  one  of  my  thoats  to  the 
other,  for  I  divided  the  day's  work  between  them, 
when  Zad  approached  me,  and  without  a  word 
struck  my  animal  a  terrific  blow  with  his  long- 
sword. 

I  did  not  need  a  manual  of  green  Martian  eti 
quette  to  know  what  reply  to  make,  for,  in  fact, 
I  was  so  wild  with  anger  that  I  could  scarcely 
refrain  from  drawing  my  pistol  and  shooting  him 
down  for  the  brute  he  was ;  but  he  stood  waiting 


A  DUEL  TO  THE  DEATH 

with  drawn  long-sword,  and  my  only  choice  was 
to  draw  my  own  and  meet  him  in  fair  fight  with 
his  choice  of  weapons  or  a  lesser  one. 

This  latter  alternative  is  always  permissible, 
therefore  I  could  have  used  my  short-sword,  my 
dagger,  my  hatchet,  or  my  fists  had  I  wished,  and 
been  entirely  within  my  rights,  but  I  could  not  use 
fire  arms  or  a  .ipear  while  he  held  only  his  long- 
sword. 

I  chose  the  same  weapon  he  had  drawn  because 
I  knew  he  prided  himself  upon  his  ability  with  it, 
and  I  wished,  if  I  worsted  him  at  all,  to  do  it  with 
his  own  weapon.  The  fight  that  followed  was  a 
long  one  and  delayed  the  resumption  of  the  march 
for  an  hour.  The  entire  community  surrounded 
us,  leaving  a  clear  space  about  one  hundred  feet 
in  diameter  for  our  battle. 

Zad  first  attempted  to  rush  me  down  as  a  bull 
might  a  wolf,  but  I  was  much  too  quick  for  him, 
and  each  time  I  side-stepped  his  rushes  he  would 
go  lunging  past  me,  only  to  receive  a  nick  from 
my  sword  upon  his  arm  or  back.  He  was  soon 
streaming  blood  from  a  half  dozen  minor  wounds, 
but  I  could  not  obtain  an  opening  to  deliver  an 
effective  thrust.  Then  he  changed  his  tactics,  and 
fighting  warily  and  with  extreme  dexterity,  he 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


tried  to  do  by  science  what  he  was  unable  to  do 
by  brute  strength.  I  must  admit  that  he  was  a 
magnificent  swordsman,  and  had  it  not  been  for 
my  greater  endurance  and  the  remarkable  agility 
the  lesser  gravitation  of  Mars  lent  me  I  might  not 
have  been  able  to  put  up  the  creditable  fight  I  did 
against  him. 

We  circled  for  some  time  without  doing  much 
damage  on  either  side;  the  long,  straight,  needle- 
like  swords  flashing  in  the  sunlight,  and  ringing  out 
upon  the  stillness  as  they  crashed  together  with 
each  effective  parry.  Finally  Zad,  realizing  that 
he  was  tiring  more  than  I,  evidently  decided  to 
close  in  and  end  the  battle  in  a  final  blaze  of  glory 
for  himself;  just  as  he  rushed  me  a  blinding  flash 
of  light  struck  full  in  my  eyes,  so  that  I  could 
not  see  his  approach  and  could  only  leap  blindly 
to  one  side  in  an  effort  to  escape  the  mighty  blade 
that  it  seemed  I  could  already  feel  in  my  vitals. 
I  was  only  partially  successful,  as  a  sharp  pain  in 
my  left  shoulder  attested,  but  in  the  sweep  of  my 
glance  as  I  sought  to  again  locate  my  adversary, 
a  sight  met  my  astonished  gaze  which  paid  me  well 
for  the  wound  the  temporary  blindness  had  caused 
me.  There,  upon  Dejah  Thoris'  chariot  stood 
three  figures,  for  the  purpose  evidently  of  wit- 


nessing  the  encounter  above  the  heads  of  the 
intervening  Tharks.  There  were  Dejah  Thoris, 
Sola,  and  Sarkoja,  and  as  my  fleeting  glance  swept 
over  them  a  little  tableau  was  presented  which 
will  stand  graven  in  my  memory  to  the  day  of  my 
death. 

As  I  looked,  Dejah  Thoris  turned  upon  Sarkoja 
with  the  fury  of  a  young  tigress  and  struck  some 
thing  from  her  upraised  hand;  something  which 
flashed  in  the  sunlight  as  it  spun  to  the 
ground.  Then  I  knew  what  had  blinded  me 
at  that  crucial  moment  of  the  fight,  and  how 
Sarkoja  had  found  a  way  to  kill  me  with* 
out  herself  delivering  the  final  thrust.  Another 
thing  I  saw,  too,  which  almost  lost  my  life  for 
me  then  and  there,  for  it  took  my  mind  for  the 
fraction  of  an  instant  entirely  from  my  antagonist; 
for,  as  Dejah  Thoris  struck  the  tiny  mirror  from 
her  hand,  Sarkoja,  her  face  livid  with  hatred  and 
baffled  rage,  whipped  out  her  dagger  and  aimed  a 
terrific  blow  at  Dejah  Thoris;  and  then  Sola,  our 
dear  and  faithful  Sola,  sprang  between  them ;  the 
last  I  saw  was  the  great  knife  descending  upon 
her  shielding  breast. 

My  enemy  had  recovered  from  his  thrust  and 
was  making  it  extremely  interesting  for  me,  so  I 

[153] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


reluctantly  gave  my  attention  to  the  work  in  hand, 
but  my  mind  was  not  upon  the  battle. 

We  rushed  each  other  furiously  time  after  time, 
'til  suddenly,  feeling  the  sharp  point  of  his  sword 
at  my  breast  in  a  thrust  I  could  neither  parry  nor 
escape,  I  threw  myself  upon  him  with  outstretched 
sword  and  with  all  the  weight  of  my  body,  deter 
mined  that  I  would  not  die  alone  if  I  could  pre 
vent  it.  I  felt  the  steel  tear  into  my  chest,  all 
went  black  before  me,  my  head  whirled  in  di*.* i- 
ness,  and  I  felt  my  knees  giving  beneath  me. 


w 


CHAPTER  XV 

SOLA  TELLS  ME  HER  STORY 

HEN  consciousness  returned,  and,  as  I 
soon  learned,  I  was  down  but  a  moment,  I 
sprang  quickly  to  my  feet  searching  for  my  sword, 
and  there  I  found  it,  buried  to  the  hilt  in  the  green 
breast  of  Zad,  who  lay  stone  dead  upon  the  ochre 
moss  of  the  ancient  sea  bottom.  As  I  regained 
my  full  senses  I  found  his  weapon  piercing  my 
left  breast,  but  only  through  the  flesh  and  muscles 
which  cover  my  ribs,  entering  near  the  center  of 
my  chest  and  coming  out  below  the  shoulder.  As 
I  had  lunged  I  had  turned  so  that  his  sword  merely 
passed  beneath  the  muscles,  inflicting  a  painful 
but  not  dangerous  wound. 

Removing  the  blade  from  my  body  I  also 
regained  my  own,  and  turning  my  back  upon  his 
ugly  carcass,  I  moved,  sick,  sore,  and  disgusted, 
toward  the  chariots  which  bore  my  retinue  and  my 
belongings.  A  murmur  of  Martian  applause 
greeted  me,  but  I  cared  not  for  it. 

Bleeding  and  weak  I  reached  my  women,  who, 

[155] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


accustomed  to  such  happenings,  dressed  my 
wounds,  applying  the  wonderful  healing  and 
remedial  agents  which  make  only  the  most  instan 
taneous  of  death  blows  fatal.  Give  a  Martian 
woman  a  chance  and  death  must  take  a  back  seat. 
They  soon  had  me  patched  up  so  that,  except  for 
weakness  from  loss  of  blood  and  a  little  sore 
ness  around  the  wound,  I  suffered  no  great  dis 
tress  from  this  thrust  which,  under  earthly  treat 
ment,  undoubtedly  would  have  put  me  flat  on  my 
back  for  days. 

As  soon  as  they  were  through  with  me 
I  hastened  to  the  chariot  of  Dejah  Thoris,  where 
I  found  my  poor  Sola  with  her  chest  swathed  in 
bandages,  but  apparently  little  the  worse  for  her 
encounter  with  Sarkoja,  whose  dagger  it  seemed 
had  struck  the  edge  of  one  of  Sola's  metal  breast 
ornaments  and,  thus  deflected,  had  inflicted  but  i 
slight  flesh  wound. 

As  I  approached  I  found  Dejah  Thoris  lying 
prone  upon  her  silks  and  furs,  her  lithe  form 
wracked  with  sobs.  She  did  not  notice  my  pres 
ence,  nor  did  she  hear  me  speaking  with  Sola,  who 
was  standing  a  short  distance  from  the  vehicle. 

"Is  she  injured?"  I  asked  of  Sola,  indicating 
Dejah  Thoris  by  an  inclination  of  my  head. 


SOLA  TELLS  ME  HER  STORY 

"No,"  she  answered,  "she  thinks  that  you  are 
dead." 

"And  that  her  grandmother's  cat  may  now 
have  no  one  to  polish  its  teeth?"  I  queried,  smil 
ing. 

"I  think  you  wrong  her,  John  Carter,"  said 
Sola.  "I  do  not  understand  either  her  ways  or 
yours,  but  I  am  sure  the  granddaughter  of  ten  thou 
sand  jeddaks  would  never  grieve  like  this  over  the 
death  of  one  she  considered  beneath  her,  or  indeed 
over  any  who  held  but  the  highest  claim  upon  her 
affections.  They  are  a  proud  race,  but  they  are 
just,  as  are  all  Barsoomians,  and  you  must  have 
hurt  or  wronged  her  grievously  that  she  will  not 
admit  your  existence  living,  though  she  mourns 
you  dead. 

"Tears  are  a  strange  sight  upon  Barsoom," 

ishe  continued,  "and  so  it  is  difficult  for  me  to 

^interpret  them.    I  have  seen  but  two  people  weep 

in  all  my  life,  other  than  Dejah  Thoris;  one  wept 

'  from  sorrow,  the  other  from  baffled  rage.     The 

first  was  my  mother,  years  ago  before  they  killed 

her;  the  other  was  Sarkoja,  when  they  dragged 

her  from  me  today." 

"Your  mother! "  I  exclaimed,  "but,  Sola,  you 
could  not  have  known  your  mother,  child." 

[157] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


"  But  I  did.    And  my  father  also,"  she  added. 
"If  you  would  like  to  hear  the  strange  and  un- 
Barsoomian  story  come  to  the  chariot  tonight, 
John  Carter,  and  I  will  tell  you  that  of  which  I 
have  never  spoken  in  all  my  life  before.    And  now ; 
the  signal  has  been  given  to  resume  the  march,, 
you  must  go." 

"  I  will  come  tonight,  Sola,"  I  promised.  "  Be 
sure  to  tell  Dejah  Thoris  I  am  alive  and  well.  I 
shall  not  force  myself  upon  her,  and  be  sure  that 
you  do  not  let  her  know  I  saw  her  tears.  If  she 
would  speak  with  me  I  but  await  her  command." 

Sola  mounted  the  chariot,  which  was  swinging 
into  its  place  in  line,  and  I  hastened  to  my  waiting 
thoat  and  galloped  to  my  station  beside  Tars  Tar- 
kas  at  the  rear  of  the  column. 

We  made  a  most  imposing  and  awe-inspiring 
spectacle  as  we  strung  out  across  the  yellow  land 
scape;  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  ornate  and 
brightly  colored  chariots,  preceded  by  an  advance 
guard  of  some  two  hundred  mounted  warriors  and 
chieftains  riding  five  abreast  and  one  hundred 
yards  apart,  and  followed  by  a  like  number  in  the 
same  formation,  with  a  score  or  more  of  flankers 
on  either  side;  the  fifty  extra  mastodons,  or  heavy 
draught  animals,  known  as  zitidars,  and  the  five 

[158] 


SOLA  TELLS  ME  HER  STORY 

or  six  hundred  extra  thoats  of  the  warriors  running 
loose  within  the  hollow  square  formed  by  the  sur 
rounding  warriors.  The  gleaming  metal  and 
jewels  of  the  gorgeous  ornaments  of  the  men  and 
women,  duplicated  in  the  trappings  of  the  zitidars 
and  thoats,  and  interspersed  with  the  flashing 
colors  of  magnificent  silks  and  furs  and  feathers, 
lent  a  barbaric  splendor  to  the  caravan  which  would 
have  turned  an  East  Indian  potentate  green  with 
envy. 

The  enormous  broad  tires  of  the  chariots  and 
the  padded  feet  of  the  animals  brought  forth  no 
sound  from  the  moss-covered  sea  bottom;  and  so 
we  moved  in  utter  silence,  like  some  huge  phan 
tasmagoria,  except  when  the  stillness  was  broken 
by  the  guttural  growling  of  a  goaded  zitidar,  or 
the  squealing  of  fighting  thoats.  The  green  Mar 
tians  converse  but  little,  and  then  usually  in 
monosyllables,  low  and  like  the  faint  rumbling  of 
distant  thunder. 

We  traversed  a  trackless  waste  of  moss  which, 
bending  to  the  pressure  of  broad  tire  or  padded 
foot,  rose  up  again  behind  us,  leaving  no  sign 
that  we  had  passed.  We  might  indeed  have  been 
the  wraiths  of  the  departed  dead  upon  the  dead 
sea  of  that  dying  planet  for  all  the  sound  or  sign 

[159] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


we  made  in  passing.  It  was  the  first  march  of  a 
large  body  of  men  and  animals  I  had  ever  wit 
nessed  which  raised  no  dust  and  left  no  spoor;  for 
there  is  no  dust  upon  Mars  except  in  the  cultivated 
districts  during  the  winter  months,  and  even  then 
the  absence  of  high  winds  renders  it  almost  un- 
noticeable. 

We  camped  that  night  at  the  foot  of  the  hills 
we  had  been  approaching  for  two  days  and  which 
marked  the  southern  boundary  of  this  particular 
sea.  Our  animals  had  been  two  days  without 
drink,  nor  had  they  had  water  for  nearly  two 
months,  not  since  shortly  after  leaving  Thark; 
but,  as  Tars  Tarkas  explained  to  me,  they  require 
but  little  and  can  live  almost  indefinitely  upon  the 
moss  which  covers  Barsoom,  and  which,  he  told 
me,  holds  in  its  tiny  stems  sufficient  moisture  to 
meet  the  limited  demands  of  the  animals. 

After  partaking  of  my  evening  meal  of  cheese- 
like  food  and  vegetable  milk  I  sought  out  Sola, 
whom  I  found  working  by  the  light  of  a  torch 
upon  some  of  Tars  Tarkas'  trappings.  She  looked 
up  at  my  approach,  her  face  lighting  with  pleasure 
and  with  welcome. 

"  I  am  glad  you  came,"  she  said ;  "  Dejah  Thoris 
sleeps  and  I  am  lonely.  Mine  own  people  do  not 
[160] 


SOLA  TELLS  ME  HER  STORY 

care  for  me,  John  Carter;  I  am  too  unlike  them. 
It  is  a  sad  fate,  since  I  must  live  my  life  amongst 
them,  and  I  often  wish  that  I  were  a  true  green 
Martian  woman,  without  love  and  without  hope; 
but  I  have  known  love  and  so  I  am  lost. 

"I  promised  to  tell  you  my  story,  or  rather 
the  story  of  my  parents.  From  what  I  have  learned 
of  you  and  the  ways  of  your  people  I  am  sure 
that  the  tale  will  not  seem  strange  to  you,  but 
among  green  Martians  it  has  no  parallel  within 
the  memory  of  the  oldest  living  Thark,  nor  do  our 
legends  hold  many  similar  tales. 

"  My  mother  was  rather  small,  in  fact  too  small 
to  be  allowed  the  responsibilities  of  maternity,  as 
our  chieftains  breed  principally  for  size.  She  was 
also  less  cold  and  cruel  than  most  green  Martian 
women,  and  caring  little  for  their  society,  she 
often  roamed  the  deserted  avenues  of  Thark  alone, 
or  went  and  sat  among  the  wild  flowers  that  deck 
the  near-by  hills,  thinking  thoughts  and  wishing 
wishes  which  I  believe  I  alone  among  Tharkian 
women  today  may  understand,  for  am  I  not  the 
child  of  my  mother? 

"And  there  among  the  hills  she  met  a  young 
warrior,  whose  duty  it  was  to  guard  the  feeding 
zitidars  and  thoats  and  see  that  they  roamed  not 
[161] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


beyond  the  hills.  They  spoke  at  first  only  of  such 
things  as  interest  a  community  of  Tharks,  but 
gradually,  as  they  came  to  meet  more  often,  and, 
as  was  now  quite  evident  to  both,  no  longer  by 
chance,  they  talked  about  themselves,  their  likes, 
their  ambitions  and  their  hopes.  She  trusted  him 
and  told  him  of  the  awful  repugnance  she  felt  for 
the  cruelties  of  their  kind,  for  the  hideous,  love 
less  lives  they  must  ever  lead,  and  then  she  waited 
for  the  storm  of  denunciation  to  break  from  his 
cold,  hard  lips;  but  instead  he  took  her  in  his  arms 
and  kissed  her. 

"They  kept  their  love  a  secret  for  six  long 
years.  She,  my  mother,  was  of  the  retinue  of  the 
great  Tal  Hajus,  while  her  lover  was  a  simple  war 
rior,  wearing  only  his  own  metal.  Had  their 
defection  from  the  traditions  of  the  Tharks  been 
discovered  both  would  have  paid  the  penalty  in 
the  great  arena  before  Tal  Hajus  and  the 
assembled  hordes. 

"The  egg  from  which  I  came  was  hidden 
beneath  a  great  glass  vessel  upon  the  highest  and 
most  inaccessible  of  the  partially  ruined  towers  of 
ancient  Thark.  Once  each  year  my  mother  visited 
it  for  the  five  long  years  it  lay  there  in  the  process 
of  incubation.  She  dared  not  come  oftener,  for 
[162] 


SOLA  TELLS  ME  HER  STORY 

in  the  mighty  guilt  of  her  conscience  she  feared 
that  her  every  move  was  watched.  During  this 
period  my  father  gained  great  distinction  as  a 
warrior  and  had  taken  the  metal  from  several 
chieftains.  His  love  for  my  mother  had  never 
diminished,  and  his  one  ambition  in  life  was  to 
reach  a  point  where  he  might  wrest  the  metal  from 
Tal  Hajus  himself,  and  thus,  as  ruler  of  the 
Tharks,  be  free  to  claim  her  as  his  own,  as  well 
as,  by  the  might  of  his  power,  protect  the  child 
which  otherwise  would  be  quickly  dispatched 
should  the  truth  become  known. 

"It  was  a  wild  dream,  that  of  wresting  the 
metal  from  Tal  Hajus  in  five  short  years,  but  his 
advance  was  rapid,  and  he  soon  stood  high  in  the 
councils  of  Thark.  But  one  day  the  chance  was 
lost  forever,  in  so  far  as  it  could  come  in  time  to 
save  his  loved  ones,  for  he  was  ordered  away  upon 
a  long  expedition  to  the  ice-clad  south,  to  make 
war  upon  the  natives  there  and  despoil  them  of 
their  furs,  for  such  is  the  manner  of  the  green 
Barsoomian;  he  does  not  labor  for  what  he  can 
wrest  in  battle  from  others. 

"He  was  gone  for  four  years,  and  when  he 
returned  all  had  been  over  for  three ;  for  about  a 
year  after  his  departure,  and  shortly  before  the 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


time  for  the  return  of  an  expedition  which  had 
gone  forth  to  fetch  the  fruits  of  a  community  incu 
bator,  the  egg  had  hatched.  Thereafter  my  mother 
continued  to  keep  me  in  the  old  tower,  visiting  me 
nightly  and  lavishing  upon  me  the  love  the  com 
munity  life  would  have  robbed  us  both  of.  She 
hoped,  upon  the  return  of  the  expedition  from  the 
incubator,  to  mix  me  with  the  other  young  assigned 
to  the  quarters  of  Tal  Hajus,  and  thus  escape  the 
fate  which  would  surely  follow  discovery  of  her 
sin  against  the  ancient  traditions  of  the  green  men. 

"  She  taught  me  rapidly  the  language  and  cus 
toms  of  my  kind,  and  one  night  she  told  me  the 
story  I  have  told  to  you  up  to  this  point,  impress 
ing  upon  me  the  necessity  for  absolute  secrecy  and 
the  great  caution  I  must  exercise  after  she  had 
placed  me  with  the  other  young  Tharks  to  permit 
no  one  to  guess  that  I  was  further  advanced  in 
education  than  they,  nor  by  any  sign  to  divulge 
in  the  presence  of  others  my  affection  for  her,  or 
my  knowledge  of  my  parentage ;  and  then  drawing 
me  close  to  her  she  whispered  in  my  ear  the  name 
of  my  father. 

"And  then  a  light  flashed  out  upon  the  dark 
ness  of  the  tower  chamber,  and  there  stood  Sar- 
koja,  her  gleaming,  baleful  eyes  fixed  in  a  frenzy 
[164] 


SOLA  TELLS  ME  HER  STORY          , 

of  loathing  and  contempt  upon  my  mother.  The 
torrent  of  hatred  and  abuse  she  poured  out  upon 
her  turned  my  young  heart  cold  in  terror.  That 
she  had  heard  the  entire  story  was  apparent,  and 
that  she  had  suspected  something  wrong  from  my 
;  mother's  long  nightly  absences  from  her  quarters 
accounted  for  her  presence  there  on  that  fateful 
night. 

"One  thing  she  had  not  heard,  nor  did  she 
know,  the  whispered  name  of  my  father.  This 
was  apparent  from  her  repeated  demands  upon 
my  mother  to  disclose  the  name  of  her  partner  in 
sin,  but  no  amount  of  abuse  or  threats  could  wring 
this  from  her,  and  to  save  me  from  needless  tor 
ture  she  lied,  for  she  told  Sarkoja  that  she  alone 
knew  nor  would  she  even  tell  her  child. 

"With  final  imprecations,  Sarkoja  hastened 
away  to  Tal  Hajus  to  report  her  discovery,  and 
while  she  was  gone  my  mother,  wrapping  me  in 
the  silks  and  furs  of  her  night  coverings,  so  that  I< 
was  scarcely  noticeable,  descended  to  the  streets? 
and  ran  wildly  away  toward  the  outskirts  of  the 
city,  in  the  direction  which  led  to  the  far  south, 
out  toward  the  man  whose  protection  she  might 
not  claim,  but  on  whose  face  she  wished  to  look 
once  more  before  she  died. 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


"As  we  neared  the  city's  southern  extremity  a 
sound  came  to  us  from  across  the  mossy  flat,  from 
the  direction  of  the  only  pass  through  the  hills 
which  led  to  the  gates,  the  pass  by  which  caravans 
from  either  north  or  south  or  east  or  west  would 
enter  the  city.  The  sounds  we  heard  were  the 
squealing  of  thoats  and  the  grumbling  of  zitidars, 
with  the  occasional  clank  of  arms  which  announced 
the  approach  of  a  body  of  warriors.  The  thought 
uppermost  in  her  mind  was  that  it  was  my  father 
returned  from  his  expedition,  but  the  cunning  of 
the  Thark  held  her  from  headlong  and  precipitate 
flight  to  greet  him. 

"  Retreating  into  the  shadows  of  a  doorway  she 
awaited  the  coming  of  the  cavalcade  which  shortly 
entered  the  avenue,  breaking  its  formation  and 
thronging  the  thoroughfare  from  wall  to  wall. 
As  the  head  of  the  procession  passed  us  the  lesser 
moon  swung  dear  of  the  overhanging  roofs  and 
lit  up  the  scene  with  all  the  brilliancy  of  her  won 
drous  light.  My  mother  shrank  further  back 
into  the  friendly  shadows,  and  from  her  hiding 
place  saw  that  the  expedition  was  not  that  of  my 
father,  but  the  returning  caravan  bearing  the  young 
Tharks.  Instantly  her  plan  was  formed,  and  as 
a  great  chariot  swung  close  to  our  hiding  place 


SOLA  TELLS  ME  HER  STORY 

she  slipped  stealthily  in  upon  the  trailing  tail  board, 
crouching  low  in  the  shadow  of  the  high  side, 
straining  me  to  her  bosom  in  a  frenzy  of  love. 

"  She  knew,  what  I  did  not,  that  never  again 
after  that  night  would  she  hold  me  to  her  breast, 
nor  was  it  likely  we  would  ever  look  upon  each 
other's  face  again.  In  the  confusion  of  the  plaza 
she  mixed  me  with  the  other  children,  whose  guar 
dians  during  the  journey  were  now  free  to  relin 
quish  their  responsibility.  We  were  herded 
together  into  a  great  room,  fed  by  women  who 
had  not  accompanied  the  expedition,  and  the  next 
day  we  were  parceled  out  among  the  retinues  of 
the  chieftains. 

*'  I  never  saw  my  mother  after  that  night.  She 
was  imprisoned  by  Tal  Hajus,  and  every  effort, 
including  the  most  horrible  and  shameful  torture, 
was  brought  to  bear  upon  her  to  wring  from  her 
lips  the  name  of  my  father;  but  she  remained 
steadfast  and  loyal,  dying  at  last  amidst  the  laugh 
ter  of  Tal  Hajus  and  his  chieftains  during  some 
awful  torture  she  was  undergoing. 

"  I  learned  afterwards  that  she  told  them  that 

she  had  killed  me  to  save  me  from  a  like  fate  at 

their  hands,  and  that  she  had  thrown  my  body  to 

the  white  apes.    Sarkoja  alone  disbelieved  her,  and 

[167] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


I  feel  to  this  day  that  she  suspects  my  true  origin, 
but  does  not  date  expose  me,  at  the  present,  at 
all  events,  because  she  also  guesses,  I  am  sure, 
the  identity  of  my  father. 

"When  he  returned  from  his  expedition  and 
learned  the  story  of  my  mother's  fate  I  was  pres 
ent  as  Tal  Hajus  told  him ;  but  never  by  the  quiver 
of  a  muscle  did  he  betray  the  slightest  emotion; 
only  he  did  not  laugh  as  Tal  Hajus  gleefully 
described  her  death  struggles.  From  that  moment 
on  he  was  the  crudest  of  the  cruel,  and  I  am 
awaiting  the  day  when  he  shall  win  the  goal  of 
his  ambition,  and  feel  the  carcass  of  Tal  Hajus 
beneath  his  foot,  for  I  am  as  sure  that  he  but 
waits  the  opportunity  to  wreak  a  terrible  ven 
geance,  and  that  his  great  love  is  as  strong  in  his 
breast  as  when  it  first  transfigured  him  nearly 
forty  years  ago,  as  I  am  that  we  sit  here  upon  the 
edge  of  a  world-old  ocean  while  sensible  people 
sleep,  John  Carter." 

"And  your  father,  Sola,  is  he  with  us  now?'* 
I  asked. 

'Yes,"  she  replied,  "but  he  does  not  know  me 

for  what  I  am,  nor  does  he  know  who  betrayed 

my  mother  to  Tal  Hajus.  I  alone  know  my  father's 

name,  and  only  I  and  Tal  Hajus  and  Sarkoja  know 

[168] 


SOLA   TELLS  ME  HER  STORY 

that  it  was  she  who  carried  the  tale  that  brought 
death  and  torture  upon  her  he  loved." 

We  sat  silent  for  a  few  moments,  she  wrapped 
in  the  gloomy  thoughts  of  her  terrible  past,  and  I 
in  pity  for  the  poor  creatures  whom  the  heartless, 
senseless  customs  of  their  race  had  doomed  to 
loveless  lives  of  cruelty  and  of  hate.  Presently 
she  spoke. 

"John  Carter,  if  ever  a  real  man  walked  the 
cold,  dead  bosom  of  Barsoom  you  are  one.  I  know 
that  I  can  trust  you,  and  because  the  knowledge 
may  some  day  help  you  or  him  or  Dejah  Thoris 
or  myself,  I  am  going  to  tell  you  the  name  of  my 
father,  nor  place  any  restrictions  or  conditions  upon 
your  tongue.  When  the  time  comes,  speak  the 
truth  if  it  seems  best  to  you.  I  trust  you  because 
I  know  that  you  are  not  cursed  with  the  terrible 
trait  of  absolute  and  unswerving  truthfulness, 
that  you  could  lie  like  one  of  your  own  Virginia 
gentlemen  if  a  lie  would  save  others  from  sorrow 
or  suffering.  My  father's  name  is  Tars  Tarkas.n 


[169] 


CHAPTER  XVI 

WE  PLAN  ESCAPE 

i 

remainder  of  our  journey  to  Thark  was 
J_  uneventful.  We  were  twenty  days  upon  the 
road,  crossing  two  sea  bottoms  and  passing 
through  or  around  a  number  of  ruined  cities, 
mostly  smaller  than  Korad.  Twice  we  crossed 
the  famous  Martian  waterways,  or  canals,  so- 
called  by  our  earthly  astronomers.  When  we 
approached  these  points  a  warrior  would  be  sent 
far  ahead  with  a  powerful  field  glass,  and  if  no 
great  body  of  red  Martian  troops  was  in  sight 
we  would  advance  as  close  as  possible  without 
chance  of  being  seen  and  then  camp  until  dark, 
when  we  would  slowly  approach  the  cultivated 
tract,  and,  locating  one  of  the  numerous,  broad 
highways  which  cross  these  areas  at  regular  inter 
vals,  creep  silently  and  stealthily  across  to  the  arid 
/lands  upon  the  other  side.  It  required  five  hours 
to  make  one  of  these  crossings  without  a  single 
halt,  and  the  other  consumed  the  entire  night,  so 
that  we  were  just  leaving  the  confines  of  the 
high-walled  fields  when  the  sun  broke  out  upon  us. 
[170] 


WE  PLAN  ESCAPE 


Crossing  in  the  darkness,  as  we  did,  I  was  unable 
to  see  but  little,  except  as  the  nearer  moon,  in  her 
wild  and  ceaseless  hurtling  through  the  Barsoomian 
heavens,  lit  up  little  patches  of  the  landscape  from 
time  to  time,  disclosing  walled  fields  and  low, 
rambling  buildings,  presenting  much  the  appear 
ance  of  earthly  farms.  There  were  many  trees, 
methodically  arranged,  and  some  of  them  were 
of  enormous  height;  there  were  animals  in  some 
of  the  enclosures,  and  they  announced  their  pres 
ence  by  terrified  squealings  and  snortings  as  they 
scented  our  queer,  wild  beasts  and  wilder  human 
beings. 

Only  once  did  I  perceive  a  human  being,  and 
that  was  at  the  intersection  of  our  crossroad  with 
the  wide,  white  turnpike  which  cuts  each  cultivated 
district  longitudinally  at  its  exact  center.  The 
feliow  must  have  been  sleeping  beside  the  road, 
for,  as  I  came  abreast  of  him,  he  raised  upon  one 
elbow  and  after  a  single  glance  at  the  approach 
ing  caravan  leaped  shrieking  to  his  feet  and  fled 
>  madly  dcsv/n  the  road,  scaling  a  near-by  wall  with 
the  agility  of  a  scared  cat.  The  Tharks  paid  him 
not  the  slightest  attention ;  they  were  not  out  upon 
the  warpath,  and  the  only  sign  that  I  had  that  they 
had  seen  him  was  a  quickening  of  the  pace  of  the 

[171] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


caravan  as  we  hastened  toward  the  bordering  des 
ert  which  marked  our  entrance  into  the  realm  of 
Tal  Hajus. 

Not  once  did  I  have  speech  with  Dejah  Thoris, 
as  she  sent  no  word  to  me  that  I  would  be  welcome 
at  her  chariot,  and  my  foolish  pride  kept  me  from 
making  any  advances.  I  verily  believe  that  a: 
man's  way  with  women  is  in  inverse  ratio  to  his 
prowess  among  men.  The  weakling  and  the  sap- 
head  have  often  great  ability  to  charm  the  fair 
sex,  while  the  fighting  man  who  can  face  a  thou 
sand  real  dangers  unafraid,  sits  hiding  in  the 
shadows  like  some  frightened  child. 

Just  thirty  days  after  my  advent  upon  Barsoom 
we  entered  the  ancient  city  of  Thark,  from  whose 
long  forgotten  people  this  horde  of  green  men 
have  stolen  even  their  name.  The  hordes  of  Thark 
number  some  thirty  thousand  souls,  and  are  divided 
into  twenty-five  communities.  Each  community 
has  its  own  jed  and  lesser  chieftains,  but  all  are 
under  the  rule  of  Tal  Hajus,  Jeddak  of  Thark. 
Five  communities  make  their  headquarters  at  the 
city  of  Thark,  and  the  balance  are  scattered  among 
other  deserted  cities  of  ancient  Mars  throughout 
the  district  claimed  by  Tal  Hajus. 

We  made  our  entry  into  the  great  central  plaza 
[172] 


WE  PLAN  ESCAPE 


early  in  the  afternoon.  There  were  no  enthusiastic 
friendly  greetings  for  the  returned  expedition. 
Those  who  chanced  to  be  in  sight  spoke  the  names 
of  warriors  or  women  with  whom  they  came  in 
direct  contact,  in  the  formal  greeting  of  their  kind, 
but  when  it  was  discovered  that  they  brought  two 
captives  a  greater  interest  was  aroused,  and  Dejah 
Thoris  and  I  were  the  centers  of  inquiring  groups. 
We  were  soon  assigned  to  new  quarters,  and  the 
balance  of  the  day  was  devoted  to  settling  our 
selves  to  the  changed  conditions.  My  home  now 
was  upon  an  avenue  leading  into  the  plaza  from 
the  south,  the  main  artery  down  which  we  had 
marched  from  the  gates  of  the  city.  I  was  at  the 
far  end  of  the  square  and  had  an  entire  building 
to  myself.  The  same  grandeur  of  architecture 
which  was  so  noticeable  a  characteristic  of  Korad 
^as  in  evidence  here,  only,  if  that  were  possible, 
on  a  larger  and  richer  scale.  My  quarters  would 
have  been  suitable  for  housing  the  greatest  of 
earthly  emperors,  but  to  these  queer  creatures 
nothing  about  a  building  appealed  to  them  but  its 
size  and  the  enormity  of  its  chambers;  the  larger 

the  building,  the  more  desirable ;  and  so  Tal  Hajus 

f 

occupied  what  must  have  been  an  enormous  public 

building,  the  largest  in  the  city,  but  entirely  unfitted 

[173] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


residence  purposes;  the  next  largest  was 
reserved  for  Lorquas  Ptomel,  the  next  for  the  jed 
of  a  lesser  rank,  and  so  on  to  the  bottom  of  the 
list  of  five  jeds.  The  warriors  occupied  the  build 
ing*  with  the  chieftains  to  whose  retinues  they 
belonged;  or,  if  they  preferred,  sought  shelter 
among  any  of  the  thousands  of  untenanted  build 
ings  in  their  own  quarter  of  town ;  each  community 
being  assigned  a  certain  section  of  the  city.  The 
selection  of  building  had  to  be  made  in  accordance 
with  these  divisions,  except  in  so  far  as  the  jeds 
were  concerned,  they  all  occupying  edifices  which 
fronted  upon  the  plaza. 

When  I  had  finally  put  my  house  in  order,  or 
rather-  seen  that  it  had  been  done,  it  was  nearlng 
sunset,  and  I  hastened  out  with  the  intention  of 
locating  Sola  and  her  chafes,  as  I  had  determined 
upon  having  speech  with  Dejah  Thoris  and  trying 
to  impress  on  her  the  necessity  of  our  at  least 
patching  up  a  truce  until  I  could  find  some  way  of 
aiding  her  to  escape.  I  searched  in  vain  until  the 
upper  rim  of  the  great  red  sun  was  just  disappear 
ing  behind  the  horizon  and  then  I  spied  the  ugly 
head  of  Woola  peering  from  a  second-story  win 
dow  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  very  street  where 
I  was  quarttoVtvi  but  nearer  the  plaza. 

[174] 


WE  PLAN  ESCAPE 


Without  waiting  for  a  further  invitation  I  bolted 
up  the  winding  runway  which  led  to  the  second 
floor,  and  entering  a  great  chamber  at  the  front 
of  the  building  was  greeted  by  the  frenzied  Woola, 
who  threw  his  great  carcass  upon  me,  nearly  hurl 
ing  me  to  the  floor;  the  poor  old  fellow  was  so 
glad  to  see  me  that  I  thought  he  would  devour 
me,  his  head  split  from  ear  to  ear,  showing  his 
three  rows  of  tusks  in  his  hobgoblin  smile. 

Quieting  him  with  a  word  of  command  and  a 
caress,  I  looked  hurriedly  through  the  approach 
ing  gloom  for  a  sign  of  Dejah  Thoris,  and  then, 
not  seeing  her,  I  called  her  name.  There  was  an 
answering  murmur  from  the  far  corner  of  the 
apartment,  and  with  a  couple  of  quick  strides  I 
was  standing  beside  her  where  she  crouched  among 
the  furs  and  silks  upon  an  ancient  carved  wooden 
seat.  As  I  waited  she  rose  to  her  full  height  and 
looking  me  straight  in  the  eye  said : 

"What  would  Dotar  Sojat,  Thark,  of  Dejah 
Thoris  his  captive  ?  " 

"Dejah  Thoris,  I  do  not  know  how  I  have 
angered  you.  It  was  furtherest  from  my  desire 
to  hurt  or  offend  you,  whom  I  had  hoped  to  pro 
tect  and  comfort.  Have  none  of  me  if  it  is  your 
will,  but  that  you  must  aid  me  in  effecting  you* 

[175] 


escape,  if  such  a  thing  be  possible,  is  not  my 
request,  but  my  command.  When  you  are  safe 
once  more  at  your  father's  court  you  may  do  with 
me  as  you  please,  but  from  now  on  until  that  day 
I  am  your  master,  and  you  must  obey  and  aid  me." 

She  looked  at  me  long  and  earnestly  and  I 
thought  that  she  was  softening  toward  me. 

"I  understand  your  words,  Dotar  Sojat,"  she 
replied,  "but  you  I  do  not  understand.  You  are  a 
queer  mixture  of  child  and  man,  of  brute  and 
noble.  I  only  wish  that  I  might  read  your  heart." 

"Look  down  at  your  feet,  Dejah  Thoris;  it  lies 
there  now  where  it  has  lain  since  that  other  night 
at  Korad,  and  where  it  will  ever  lie  beating  alone 
for  you  until  death  stills  it  forever." 

She  took  a  little  step  toward  me,  her  beautiful 
hands  outstretched  in  a  strange,  groping  gesture. 

"What  do  you  mean,  John  Carter?"  she  whis 
pered.  "What  are  you  saying  to  me? " 

"  I  am  saying  what  I  had  promised  myself  that 
I  would  not  say  to  you,  at  least  until  you  were  no 
longer  a  captive  among  the  green  men ;  what  from 
your  attitude  toward  me  for  the  past  twenty  days 
I  had  thought  never  to  say  to  you;  I  am  saying, 
Dejah  Thoris,  that  I  am  yours,  body  and  soul, 
to  serve  you,  to  fight  far  you,  and  to  die  for  you. 


WE  PLAN  ESCAPE 


Only  one  thing  I  ask  of  you  in  return,  and  that  is 
that  you  make  no  sign,  either  of  condemnation  or 
of  approbation  of  my  words  until  you  are  safe 
among  your  own  people,  and  that  whatever  senti 
ments  you  harbor  toward  me  they  be  not  influenced 
or  colored  by  gratitude;  whatever  I  may  do  to 
serve  you  will  be  prompted  solely  from  selfish 
motives,  since  it  gives  me  more  pleasure  to  serve 
you  than  not." 

"  I  will  respect  your  wishes,  John  Carter, 
because  I  understand  the  motives  which  prompt 
them,  and  I  accept  your  service  no  more  willingly 
than  I  bow  to  your  authority;  your  word  shall  be 
my  law.  I  have  twice  wronged  you  in  my  thoughts 
and  again  I  ask  your  forgiveness." 

Further  conversation  of  a  personal  nature  was 
prevented  by  the  entrance  of  Sola,  who  was  much 
agitated  and  wholly  unlike  her  usual  calm  and 
possessed  self. 

"That  horrible  Sarkoja  has  been  before  Tal 
Hajus,"  she  cried,  "  and  from  what  I  heard  upon 
the  plaza  there  is  little  hope  for  either  of  you." 

"What  do  they  say?"  inquired  DejahThoris. 

"That  you  will  be  thrown  to  the  wild  calots 
[dogs]  in  the  great  arena  as  soon  as  the  hordes 
have  assembled  for  the  yearly  games." 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


•'  Sola,"  I  said,  "you  are  a  Thark,  but  you  hate 
and  loathe  the  customs  of  your  people  as  much  as 
we  do.  Will  you  not  accompany  us  in  one  supreme 
effort  to  escape?  I  am  sure  that  Dejah  Thoris 
can  offer  you  a  home  and  protection  among  her 
people,  and  your  fate  can  be  no  worse  among  them 
than  it  must  ever  be  here." 

"Yes,"  cried  Dejah  Thoris,  "come  with  us, 
Sola,  you  will  be  better  off  among  the  red  men  of 
Helium  than  you  are  here,  and  I  can  promise  you 
not  only  a  home  with  us,  but  the  love  and  affection 
your  nature  craves  and  which  must  always  be 
denied  you  by  the  customs  of  your  own  race.  Come 
with  us,  Sola ;  we  might  go  without  you,  but  your 
fate  would  be  terrible  if  they  thought  you  had 
connived  to  aid  us.  I  know  that  even  that  fear 
would  not  tempt  you  to  interfere  in  our  escape, 
but  we  want  you  with  us,  we  want  you  to  come  to 
a  land  of  sunshine  and  happiness,  amongst  a  peo 
ple  who  know  the  meaning  of  love,  of  sympathy, 
and  of  gratitude.  Say  that  you  will,  Sola;  tell 
me  that  you  will." 

"  The  great  waterway  which  leads  to  Helium  is 

but  fifty  miles  to  the  south,"  murmured  Sola,  half 

to  herself;  "a  swift  thoat  might  make  it  in  three 

hours;  and  then  to  Helium  it  is  five  hundred  miles, 

[178] 


SHE  DREW  UPON  THE  MARBLE   FLOOR  THE  FIRST  MAP  OF  THE 

BARSOOMIAN  TERRITORY  I  HAD  EVER  SEEN.          Page   17& 


WE  PLAN  ESCAPE 


most  of  the  way  through  thinly  settled  districts. 
They  would  know  and  they  would  follow  us.  We 
might  hide  among  the  great  trees  for  a  time,  but 
the  chances  are  small  indeed  for  escape.  They 
would  follow  us  to  the  very  gates  of  Helium,  and 
they  would  take  toll  of  life  at  every  step ;  you  do 
not  know  them." 

"Is  there  no  other  way  we  might  reach 
Helium?"  I  asked.  "Can  you  not  draw  me  a 
rough  map  of  the  country  we  must  traverse,  Dejah 
Thoris?" 

"  Yes,"  she  replied,  and  taking  a  great  diamond 
from  her  hair  she  drew  upon  the  marble  floor  the 
first  map  of  Barsoomian  territory  I  had  ever  seen. 
It  was  crisscrossed  in  every  direction  with  long 
straight  lines,  sometimes  running  parallel  and 
sometimes  converging  toward  some  great  circle. 
The  lines,  she  said,  were  waterways;  the  circles, 
cities;  and  one  far  to  the  northwest  of  us  she 
pointed  out  as  Helium.  There  were  other  cities 
closer,  but  she  said  she  feared  to  enter  many  of 
them,  as  they  were  not  all  friendly  toward  Helium. 

Finally,  after  studying  the  map  carefully  in  the 
moonlight  which  now  flooded  the  room,  I  pointed 
out  a  waterway  far  to  the  north  of  us  which  also 
seemed  to  lead  to  Helium. 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


"  Does  not  this  pierce  your  grandfather's  terri 
tory?"  I  asked. 

"Yes,"  she  answered,  "but  it  is  two  hundred 
miles  north  of  us;  it  is  one  of  the  waterways  we 
crossed  on  the  trip  to  Thark." 

"They  would  never  suspect  that  we  would  try 
for  that  distant  waterway,"  I  answered,  "  and  that 
is  why  I  think  that  it  is  the  best  route  for  our 
escape." 

Sola  agreed  with  me,  and  it  was  decided  that  we 
should  leave  Thark  this  same  night ;  just  as  quickly, 
in  fact,  as  I  could  find  and  saddle  my  thoats. 
Sola  was  to  ride  one  and  Dejah  Thoris  and  I 
the  other;  each  of  us  carrying  sufficient  food  and 
drink  to  last  us  for  two  days,  since  the  animals 
could  not  be  urged  too  rapidly  for  so  long  a  dis 
tance. 

I  directed  Sola  to  proceed  with  Dejah  Thoris 
along  one  of  the  less  frequented  avenues  to  the 
southern  boundary  of  the  city,  where  I  would  over 
take  them  with  the  thoats  as  quickly  as  possible; 
then,  leaving  them  to  gather  what  food,  silks,  and 
furs  we  were  to  need,  I  slipped  quietly  to  the  rear 
of  the  first  floor,  and  entered  the  courtyard,  where 
our  animals  were  moving  restlessly  about,  as  was 
their  habit,  before  settling  down  for  the  night. 
[180] 


In  the  shadows  of  the  buildings  and  out  beneath 
the  radiance  of  the  Martian  moons  moved  the 
great  herd  of  thoats  and  zitidars,  the  latter  grunt 
ing  their  low  gutturals  and  the  former  occasionally 
emitting  the  sharp  squeal  which  denotes  the  almost 
habitual  state  of  rage  in  which  these  creatures 
passed  their  existence.  They  were  quieter  now, 
owing  to  the  absence  of  man,  but  as  they  scented 
me  they  became  more  restless  and  their  hideous 
noise  increased.  It  was  risky  business,  this  enter 
ing  a  paddock  of  thoats  alone  and  at  night;  first, 
because  their  increasing  noisiness  might  warn  the 
near-by  warriors  that  something  was  amiss,  and 
also  because  for  the  slightest  cause,  or  for  no  cause 
at  all  some  great  bull  thoat  might  take  it  upon 
himself  to  lead  a  charge  upon  me. 

Having  no  desire  to  awaken  their  nasty  tem 
pers  upon  such  a  night  as  this,  where  so  much 
depended  upon  secrecy  and  dispatch,  I  hugged  the 
shadows  of  the  buildings,  ready  at  an  instant's 
warning  to  leap  into  the  safety  of  a  near-by  door 
or  window.  Thus  I  moved  silently  to  the  great 
gates  which  opened  upon  the  street  at  the  back 
of  the  court,  and  as  I  neared  the  exit  I  called 
softly  to  my  two  animals.  How  I  thanked  the 
kind  providence  which  had  given  me  the  fore- 
[181] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


sight  to  win  the  love  and  confidence  of  these  wild 
dumb  brutes,  for  presently  from  the  far  side  of 
the  court  I  saw  two  huge  bulks  forcing  their  way 
toward  me  through  the  surging  mountains  of  flesh. 

They  came  quite  close  to  me,  rubbing  their 
muzzles  against  my  body  and  nosing  for  the  bits 
of  food  it  was  always  my  practice  to  reward  them 
with.  Opening  the  gates  I  ordered  the  two  great 
beasts  to  pass  out,  and  then  slipping  quietly  after 
them  I  closed  the  portals  behind  me. 

I  did  not  saddle  or  mount  the  animals  there, 
but  instead  walked  quietly  in  the  shadows  of  the 
buildings  toward  an  unfrequented  avenue  which 
lead  toward  the  point  I  had  arranged  to  meet 
Dejah  Thoris  and  Sola.  With  the  noiselessness 
of  disembodied  spirits  we  moved  stealthily  along 
the  deserted  streets,  but  not  until  we  were  within 
sight  of  the  plain  beyond  the  city  did  I  commence 
to  breathe  freely.  I  was  sure  that  Sola  and  Dejah 
Thoris  would  find  no  difficulty  in  reaching  our 
rendezvous  undetected,  but  with  my  great  thoats 
I  was  not  so  sure  for  myself,  as  it  was  quite 
unusual  for  warriors  to  leave  the  city  after  dark; 
in  fact  there  was  no  place  for  them  to  go  within 
any  but  a  long  ride. 

I  reached  the  appointed  meeting  place  safely, 


WE  PLAN  ESCAPE 


but  as  Dejah  Thoris  and  Sola  were  not  there  I 
led  my  animals  into  the  entrance  hall  of  one  of 
the  large  buildings.  Presuming  that  one  of  the 
other  women  of  the  same  household  may  have 
come  in  to  speak  to  Sola,  and  so  delayed  their 
departure,  I  did  not  feel  any  undue  apprehension 
until  nearly  an  hour  had  passed  without  a  sign  of 
them,  and  by  the  time  another  half  hour  had 
crawled  away  I  was  becoming  filled  with  grave 
anxiety.  Then  there  broke  upon  the  stillness  of 
the  night  the  sound  of  an  approaching  party, 
which,  from  the  noise,  I  know  could  be  no  fugi 
tives  creeping  stealthily  toward  liberty.  Soon  the 
party  was  near  me,  and  from  the  black  shadows 
of  my  entrance  way  I  perceived  a  score  of  mounted 
warriors,  who,  in  passing,  dropped  a  dozen  words 
that  fetched  my  heart  clean  into  the  top  of  my 
head. 

"  He  would  likely  have  arranged  to  meet  them 
just  without  the  city,  and  so  —  "  I  heard  no  more, 
they  had  passed  on;  but  it  was  enough.  Our  plan 
had  been  discovered,  and  the  chances  for  escape 
from  now  on  to  the  fearful  end  would  be  small 
indeed.  My  one  hope  now  was  to  return  unde 
tected  to  the  quarters  of  Dejah  Thoris  and  learn 
what  fate  had  overtaken  her,  but  how:  to  do  it 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


with  these  great  monstrous  thoats  upon  my  hands, 
now  that  the  city  probably  was  aroused  by  the 
knowledge  of  my  escape  was  a  problem  of  no 
mean  proportions. 

Suddenly  an  idea  occurred  to  me,  and  acting 
on  my  knowledge  of  the  construction  of  the  build 
ings  of  these  ancient  Martian  cities  with  a  hollow 
court  within  the  center  of  each  square,  I  groped 
my  way  blindly  through  the  dark  chambers,  calling 
the  great  thoats  after  me.  They  had  difficulty  in 
negotiating  some  of  the  doorways,  but  as  the 
buildings  fronting  the  city's  principal  exposures 
were  all  designed  upon  a  magnificent  scale,  they 
were  able  to  wriggle  through  without  sticking  fast ; 
and  thus  we  finally  made  the  inner  court  where  I 
found,  as  I  had  expected,  the  usual  carpet  of 
moss-like  vegetation  which  would  prove  their  food 
and  drink  until  I  could  return  them  to  their  own 
enclosure.  That  they  would  be  as  quiet  and  con- 
tented  here  as  elsewhere  I  was  confident,  nor  was 
there  but  the  remotest  possibility  that  they  would 
be  discovered,  as  the  green  men  had  no  great 
desire  to  enter  these  outlying  buildings,  which 
were  frequented  by  the  only  thing,  I  believe,  which 
caused  them  the  sensation  of  fear  —  the  great 
white  apes  of  Barsoom. 

[184] 


WE  PLAN  ESCAPE 


Removing  the  saddle  trappings,  I  hid  them  just 
within  the  rear  doorway  of  the  building  through 
which  we  had  entered  the  court,  and,  turning  the 
beasts  loose,  quickly  made  my  way  across  the 
court  to  the  rear  of  the  buildings  upon  the  fur 
ther  side,  and  thence  to  the  avenue  beyond.  Wait 
ing  in  the  doorway  of  the  building  until  I  was 
assured 'that  no  one  was  approaching,  I  hurried 
across  to  the  opposite  side  and  through  the  first 
doorway  to  the  court  beyond;  thus,  crossing 
through  court  after  court  with  only  the  slight 
chance  of  detection  which  the  necessary  crossing  of 
the  avenues  entailed,  I  made  my  way  in  safety  to 
the  courtyard  in  the  rear  of  Dejah  Thoris'  quarters. 

Here,  of  course,  I  found  the  beasts  of  the  war 
riors  who  quartered  in  the  adjacent  buildings,  and 
the  warriors  themselves  I  might  expect  to  meet 
within  if  I  entered;  but,  fortunately  for  me,  I  had 
another  and  safer  method  of  reaching  the  upper 
story  where  Dejah  Thoris  should  be  found,  and, 
after  first  determining  as  nearly  as  possible  which 
of  the  buildings  she  occupied,  for  I  had  never 
observed  them  before  from  the  court  side,  I  took 
advantage  of  my  relatively  great  strength  and 
agility  and  sprang  upward  until  I  grasped  the  sill 
of  a  second-story  window  which  I  thought  to  be 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


in  the  rear  of  her  apartment.  Drawing  myself 
inside  the  room  I  moved  stealthily  toward  the 
front  of  the  building,  and  not  until  I  had  quite 
reached  the  doorway  of  her  room  was  I  made 
aware  by  voices  that  it  was  occupied. 

I  did  not  rush  headlong  in,  but  listened  without 
to  assure  myself  that  it  was  Dejah  Thoris  and  that 
it  was  safe  to  venture  within.  It  was  well  indeed 
that  I  took  this  precaution,  for  the  conversation 
I  heard  was  in  the  low  gutturals  of  men,  and  the 
words  which  finally  came  to  me  proved  a  most 
timely  warning.  The  speaker  was  a  chieftain  and 
he  was  giving  orders  to  four  of  his  warriors. 

"And  when  he  returns  to  this  chamber,"  he  was 
saying,  "  as  he  surely  will  when  he  finds  she  does 
not  meet  him  at  the  city's  edge,  you  four  are  to 
spring  upon  him  and  disarm  him.  It  will  require 
the  combined  strength  of  all  of  you  to  do  it  if  the 
reports  they  bring  back  from  Korad  are  correct. 
When  you  have  him  fast  bound  bear  him  to  the 
vaults  beneath  the  jeddak's  quarters  and  chain 
him  securely  where  he  may  be  found  when  Tal 
Hajus  wishes  him.  Allow  him  to  speak  with  none, 
nor  permit  any  other  to  enter  this  apartment  before 
he  comes.  There  will  be  no  danger  of  the  girl 
returning,  for  by  this  time  she  is  safe  in  the  arms 
1.185} 


WE  PLAN  ESCAPE 


ef  Tal  Hajus,  and  may  all  her  ancestors  have  pity 
upon  her,  for  Tal  Hajus  will  have  none ;  the  great 
Sarkoja  has  done  a  noble  night's  work.  I  go,  and 
if  you  fail  to  capture  him  when  he  comes,  I  com 
mend  your  carcasses  to  the  cold  bosom  of  Iss." 


• 


CHAPTER  XVII 

A  COSTLY  RECAPTURE 

AS  the  speaker  ceased  he  turned  to  leave  the 
•*•  ^-apartment  by  the  door  where  I  was  stand 
ing,  but  I  needed  to  wait  no  longer;  I  had  heard 
enough  to  fill  my  soul  with  dread,  and  stealing 
quietly  away  I  returned  to  the  courtyard  by  the 
way  I  had  come.  My  plan  of  action  was  formed 
upon  the  instant,  and  crossing  the  square  and  the 
bordering  avenue  upon  the  opposite  side  I  soon 
stood  within  the  courtyard  of  Tal  Hajus. 

The  brilliantly  lighted  apartments  of  the  first 
floor  told  me  where  first  to  seek,  and  advancing 
to  the  windows  I  peered  within.  I  soon  discovered 
that  my  approach  was  not  to  be  the  easy  thing  I 
had  hoped,  for  the  rear  rooms  bordering  the  court 
were  filled  with  warriors  and  women.  I  then 
glanced  up  at  the  stories  above,  discovering  that 
the  third  was  apparently  unlighted,  and  so  decided 
to  make  my  entrance  to  the  building  from  that 
point.  It  was  the  work  of  but  a  moment  for  me 
to  reach  the  windows  above,  and  soon  I  had  drawn 
[188] 


A  COSTLY  RECAPTURE 


myself  within  the  sheltering  shadows  of  the  un- 
lighted  third  floor. 

Fortunately  the  room  I  had  selected  was  unten- 
anted,  and  creeping  noiselessly  to  the  corridor 
beyond  I  discovered  a  light  in  the  apartments 
ahead  of  me.  Reaching  what  appeared  to  be  a 
doorway  I  discovered  that  it  was  but  an  opening 
upon  an  immense  inner  chamber  which  towered 
from  the  first  floor,  two  stories  below  me,  to  the 
dome-like  roof  of  the  building,  high  above  my 
head.  The  floor  of  this  great  circular  hall  was 
thronged  with  chieftains,  warriors  and  women, 
and  at  one  end  was  a  great  raised  platform  upon 
which  squatted  the  most  hideous  beast  I  had  ever 
put  my  eyes  upon.  He  had  all  the  cold,  hard, 
cruel,  terrible  features  of  the  green  warriors,  but 
accentuated  and  debased  by  the  animal  passions 
to  which  he  had  given  himself  over  for  many  years. 
There  was  not  a  mark  of  dignity  or  pride  upon 
his  bestial  countenance,  while  his  enormous  bulk 
spread  itself  out  upon  the  platform  where  he 
squatted  like  some  huge  devil  fish,  his  six  limbs 
accentuating  the  similarity  in  a  horrible  and  star 
tling  manner. 

But  the  sight  that  froze  me  with  apprehension 
was  that  of  Dejah  Thoris  and  Sola  standing  there 
[189] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


before  him,  and  the  fiendish  leer  of  him  as  he  let 
his  great  protruding  eyes  gloat  upon  the  lines  of 
her  beautiful  figure.  She  was  speaking,  but  I 
could  not  hear  what  she  said,  nor  could  I  make 
out  the  low  grumbling  of  his  reply.  She  stood 
there  erect  before  him,  her  head  high  held,  and 
even  at  the  distance  I  was  from  them  I  could  read 
the  scorn  and  disgust  upon  her  face  as  she  let  her 
haughty  glance  rest  without  sign  of  fear  upon  him. 
She  was  indeed  the  proud  daughter  of  a  thousand 
jeddaks,  every  inch  of  her  dear,  precious  little 
body;  so  small,  so  frail  beside  the  towering  war 
riors  around  her,  but  in  her  majesty  dwarfing 
them  into  insignificance;  she  was  the  mightiest 
figure  among  them  and  I  verily  believe  that  they 
felt  it. 

Presently  Tal  Hajus  made  a  sign  that  the 
chamber  be  cleared,  and  that  the  prisoners  be  left 
alone  before  him.  Slowly  the  chieftains,  the  war 
riors  and  the  women  melted  away  into  the  shadows 
of  the  surrounding  chambers,  and  Dejah  Thoris 
and  Sola  stood  alone  before  the  jeddak  of  the 
Tharks. 

One  chieftain  alone  had  hesitated  before  depart 
ing;  I  saw  him  standing  in  the  shadows  of  a  mighty 
column,  his  fingers  nervously  toying  with  the  hilt 
[190] 


A  COSTLY  RECAPTURE 


of  his  great-sword  and  his  cruel  eyes  bent  in  implac 
able  hatred  upon  Tal  Hajus.  It  was  Tars  Tarkas, 
and  I  could  read  his  thoughts  as  they  were  an  open 
book  for  the  undisguised  loathing  upon  his  face. 
He  was  thinking  of  that  other  woman  who,  forty 
years  ago,  had  stood  before  this  beast,  and  could 
I  have  spoken  a  word  into  his  ear  at  that  moment 
the  reign  of  Tal  Hajus  would  have  been  over; 
but  finally  he  also  strode  from  the  room,  not  know 
ing  that  he  left  his  own  daughter  at  the  mercy  of 
the  creature  he  most  loathed. 

Tal  Hajus  arose,  and  I,  half  fearing,  half  antici 
pating  his  intentions,  hurried  to  the  winding  run 
way  which  led  to  the  floors  below.  No  one  was 
near  to  intercept  me,  and  I  reached  the  main  floor 
of  the  chamber  unobserved,  taking  my  station  in 
the  shadow  of  the  same  column  that  Tars  Tarkas 
had  but  just  deserted.  As  I  reached  the  floor 
Tal  Hajus  was  speaking. 

"  Princess  of  Helium,  I  might  wring  a  mighty 
ransom  from  your  people  would  I  but  return  you 
to  them  unharmed,  but  a  thousand  times  rather 
would  I  watch  that  beautiful  face  writhe  in  the 
agony  of  torture ;  it  shall  be  long  drawn  out,  that 
I  promise  you:  ten  days  of  pleasure  were  all  too 
short  to  show  the  love  I  harbor  for  your  race.  The 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


terrors  of  your  death  shall  haunt  the  slumbers  of 
the  red  men  through  all  the  ages  to  come;  they 
will  shudder  in  the  shadows  of  the  night  as  their 
fathers  tell  them  of  the  awful  vengeance  of  the 
green  men ;  of  the  power  and  might  and  hate  and 
cruelty  of  Tal  Hajus.  But  before  the  torture  you 
shall  be  mine  for  one  short  hour,  and  word  of  that 
too  shall  go  forth  to  Tardos  Mors,  Jeddak  of 
Helium,  your  grandfather,  that  he  may  grovel 
upon  the  ground  in  the  agony  of  his  sorrow. 
Tomorrow  the  torture  will  commence;  tonight 
thou  art  Tal  Hajus' ;  come !  " 

He  sprang  down  from  the  platform  and  grasped 
her  roughly  by  the  arm,  but  scarcely  had  he  touched 
her  than  I  leaped  between  them.  My  short-sword, 
sharp  and  gleaming  was  in  my  right  hand ;  I  could 
have  plunged  it  into  his  putrid  heart  before  he 
realized  that  I  was  upon  him ;  but  as  I  raised  my 
arm  to  strike  I  thought  of  Tars  Tarkas,  and,  with 
all  my  rage,  with  all  my  hatred,  I  could  not  rob 
him  of  that  sweet  moment  for  which  he  had  lived 
and  hoped  all  these  long,  weary  years,  and  so, 
instead,  I  swung  my  good  right  fist  full  upon  the 
point  of  his  jaw.  Without  a  sound  he  slipped  to 
the  floor  as  one  dead. 

In  the  same  deathly  silence  I  grasped  Dejah 
[192] 


A  COSTLY  RECAPTURE 


Thoris  by  the  hand,  and  motioning  to  Sola  to  fol 
low  we  sped  noiselessly  from  the  chamber  and  to 
the  floor  above.  Unseen  we  reached  a  rear  win 
dow  and  with  the  straps  and  leather  of  my  trap 
pings  I  lowered,  first  Sola  and  then  Dejah  Thoris 
to  the  ground  below.  Dropping  lightly  after  them 
I  drew  them  rapidly  around  the  court  in  the 
shadows  of  the  buildings,  and  thus  we  returned 
over  the  same  course  I  had  so  recently  followed 
from  the  distant  boundary  of  the  city. 

We  finally  came  upon  my  thoats  in  the  court 
yard  where  I  had  left  them,  and  placing  the  trap 
pings  upon  them  we  hastened  through  the  build 
ing  to  the  avenue  beyond.  Mounting,  Sola  upon 
one  beast,  and  Dejah  Thoris  behind  me  upon  the 
other,  we  rode  from  the  city  of  Thark  through  the 
hills  to  the  south. 

Instead  of  circling  back  around  the  city  to  the 
northwest  and  toward  the  nearest  waterway  which 
lay  so  short  a  distance  from  us,  we  turned  to  the 
northeast  and  struck  out  upon  the  mossy  waste 
across  which,  for  two  hundred  dangerous  and 
weary  miles,  lay  another  main  artery  leading  to 
Helium. 

No  word  was  spoken  until  we  had  left  the  city 
for  behind,  but  I  could  hear  the  quiet  sobbing  of 
[193] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


Dejah  Thoris  as  she  clung  to  me  with  her  dear 
head  resting  against  my  shoulder. 

"  If  we  make  it,  my  chieftain,  the  debt  of 
Helium  will  be  a  mighty  one;  greater  than  she 
can  every  pay  you;  and  should  we  not  make  it," 
she  continued,  "  the  debt  is  no  less,  though  Helium 
will  never  know,  for  you  have  saved  the  last  of 
our  line  from  worse  than  death." 

I  did  not  answer,  but  instead  reached  to  my  side 
and  pressed  the  little  fingers  of  her  I  loved  where 
they  clung  to  me  for  support,  and  then,  in  un 
broken  silence,  we  sped  over  the  yellow,  moonlit 
moss;  each  of  us  occupied  with  his  own  thoughts. 
For  my  part  I  could  not  be  other  than  joyful  had  I 
tried,  with  Dejah  Thoris'  warm  body  pressed  close 
to  mine,  and  with  all  our  unpassed  danger  my 
heart  was  singing  as  gaily  as  though  we  were 
already  entering  the  gates  of  Helium. 

Our  earlier  plans  had  been  so  sadly  upset  that 
we  now  found  ourselves  without  food  or  drink, 
and  I  alone  was  armed.  We  therefore  urged  our 
beasts  to  a  speed  that  must  tell  on  them  sorely 
before  we  could  hope  to  sight  the  ending  of  the 
first  stage  of  our  journey. 

We  rode  all  night  and  all  the  following  day 
with  only  a  few  short  rests.  On  the  second  night 
[194] 


A  COSTLY  RECAPTURE 


both  we  and  our  animals  were  completely  fagged, 
and  so  we  lay  down  upon  the  moss  and  slept  for 
some  five  or  six  hours,  taking  up  the  journey  once 
more  before  daylight.  All  the  following  day  we 
rode,  and  when,  late  in  the  afternoon  we  had 
sighted  no  distant  trees,  the  mark  of  the  great 
waterways  throughout  all  Barsoom,  the  terrible 
truth  flashed  upon  us  —  we  were  lost. 

Evidently  we  had  circled,  but  which  way  it  was 
difficult  to  say,  nor  did  it  seem  possible  with  the 
sun  to  guide  us  by  day  and  the  moons  and  stars 
by  night.  At  any  rate  no  waterway  was  in  sight, 
and  the  entire  party  was  almost  ready  to  drop 
from  hunger,  thirst  and  fatigue.  Far  ahead  of 
us  and  a  trifle  to  the  right  we  could  distinguish 
the  outlines  of  low  mountains.  These  we  decided 
to  attempt  to  reach  in  the  hope  that  from  some 
ridge  we  might  discern  the  missing  waterway. 
Night  fell  upon  us  before  we  reached  our  goal, 
and,  almost  fainting  from  weariness  and  weakness, 
we  lay  down  and  slept. 

I  was  awakened  early  in  the  morning  by  some 
huge  body  pressing  close  to  mine,  and  opening  my 
eyes  with  a  start  I  beheld  my  blessed  old  Woola 
snuggling  close  to  me;  the  faithful  brute  had  fol 
lowed  us  across  that  trackless  waste  to  share  our 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


fate,  whatever  it  might  be.  Putting  my  arms  about 
his  neck  I  pressed  my  cheek  close  to  his,  nor  am  I 
ashamed  that  I  did  it,  nor  of  the  tears  that  came 
to  my  eyes  as  I  thought  of  his  love  for  me.  Shortly 
after  this  Dejah  Thoris  and  Sola  awakened,  and 
it  was  decided  that  we  push  on  at  once  in  an  effort 
to  gain  the  hills. 

We  had  gone  scarcely  a  mile  when  I  noticed 
that  my  thoat  was  commencing  to  stumble  and 
stagger  in  a  most  pitiful  manner,  although  we  had 
not  attempted  to  force  them  out  of  a  walk  since 
about  noon  of  the  preceding  day.  Suddenly  he 
lurched  wildly  to  one  side  and  pitched  violently  to 
the  ground.  Dejah  Thoris  and  I  were  thrown 
clear  of  him  and  fell  upon  the  soft  moss  with 
scarcely  a  jar;  but  the  poor  beast  was  in  a  pitiable 
condition,  not  even  being  able  to  rise,  although 
relieved  of  our  weight.  Sola  told  me  that  the 
coolness  of  the  night,  when  it  fell,  together  with 
the  rest  would  doubtless  revive  him,  and  so  I 
decided  not  to  kill  him,  as  was  my  first  intention, 
as  I  had  thought  it  cruel  to  leave  him  alone  there 
to  die  of  hunger  and  thirst.  Relieving  him  of  his 
trappings,  which  I  flung  down  beside  him,  we  left 
the  poor  fellow  to  his  fate,  and  pushed  on  with 
the  one  thoat  as  best  we  could.  Sola  and  I  walked, 
[196] 


A  COSTLY  RECAPTURE 


making  Dejah  Thoris  ride,  much  against  her  will. 
In  this  way  we  had  progressed  to  within  about  a 
mile  of  the  hills  we  were  endeavoring  to  reach 
when  Dejah  Thoris,  from  her  point  of  vantage 
upon  the  thoat,  cried  out  that  she  saw  a  great 
party  of  mounted  men  filing  down  from  a  pass  in 
the  hills  several  miles  away.  Sola  and  I  both 
looked  in  the  direction  she  indicated,  and  there, 
plainly  discernible,  were  several  hundred  mounted 
warriors.  They  seemed  to  be  headed  in  a  south 
westerly  direction,  which  would  take  them  away 
from  us. 

They  doubtless  were  Thark  warriors  who  had 
been  sent  out  to  capture  us,  and  we  breathed  a 
great  sigh  of  relief  that  they  were  traveling  in  the 
opposite  direction.  Quickly  lifting  Dejah  Thoris 
from  the  thoat,  I  commanded  the  animal  to  lie 
down  and  we  three  then  did  the  same,  presenting 
as  small  an  object  as  possible  for  fear  of  attract 
ing  the  attention  of  the  warriors  toward  us. 

We  could  see  them  as  they  filed  out  of  the  pass, 
just  for  an  instant,  before  they  were  lost  to  view 
behind  a  friendly  ridge;  to  us  a  most  providential 
ridge;  since,  had  they  been  in  view  for  any  great 
length  of  time,  they  scarcely  could  have  failed  to 
discover  us.  As  what  proved  to  be  the  last  war- 

[197] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


rior  came  into  view  from  the  pass,  he  halted  and, 
to  our  consternation,  threw  his  small  but  powerful 
fieldglass  to  his  eye  and  scanned  the  sea  bottom  in 
all  directions.  Evidently  he  was  a  chieftain,  for  in 
certain  marching  formations  among  the  green  men 
a  chieftain  brings  up  at  the  extreme  rear  of  the 
column.  As  his  glass  swung  toward  us  our  hearts 
stopped  in  our  breasts,  and  I  could  feel  the  cold 
sweat  start  from  every  pore  in  my  body. 

Presently  it  swung  full  upon  us  and — stopped. 
The  tension  on  our  nerves  was  near  the  breaking 
point,  and  I  doubt  if  any  of  us  breathed  for  the 
few  moments  he  held  us  covered  by  his  glass ;  and 
then  he  lowered  it  and  we  could  see  him  shout  a 
command  to  the  warriors  who  had  passed  from 
our  sight  behind  the  ridge.  He  did  not  wait  for 
them  to  join  him,  however,  instead  he  wheeled 
his  thoat  and  came  tearing  madly  in  our  direction. 

There  was  but  one  slight  chance  and  that  we 
must  take  quickly.  Raising  my  strange  Martian 
rifle  to  my  shoulder  I  sighted  and  touched  the 
button  which  controlled  the  trigger;  there  was  a 
sharp  explosion  as  the  missile  reached  its  goal, 
and  the  charging  chieftain  pitched  backward  from 
his  flying  mount. 

Springing  to  my  feet  I  urged  the  thoat  to  rise, 
[198] 


A  COSTLY  RECAPTURE 


and  directed  Sola  to  take  Dejah  Thorls  with  her 
upon  him  and  make  a  mighty  effort  to  reach  the 
hills  before  the  green  warriors  were  upon  us.  I 
knew  that  in  the  ravines  and  gullies  they  might 
find  a  temporary  hiding  place,  and  even  though 
they  died  there  of  hunger  and  thirst  it  would  be 
better  so  than  that  they  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Tharks.  Forcing  my  two  revolvers  upon  them 
as  a  slight  means  of  protection,  and,  as  a  last 
resort,  as  an  escape  for  themselves  from  the  horrid 
death  which  recapture  would  surely  mean,  I  lifted 
Dejah  Thoris  in  my  arms  and  placed  her  upon 
the  thoat  behind  Sola,  who  had  already  mounted 
at  my  command. 

"Good-bye,  my  princess,"  I  whispered,  "we 
may  meet  in  Helium  yet.  I  have  escaped  from 
worse  plights  than  this,"  and  I  tried  to  smile  as 
I  lied. 

"What,"  she  cried,  "are  you  not  coming  with 
us?" 

"How  may  I,  Dejah  Thoris?  Some  one  must 
hold  these  fellows  off  for  a  while,  and  I  can  better 
escape  them  alone  than  could  the  three  of  us 
together." 

She  sprang  quickly  from  the  thoat  and,  throw 
ing  her  dear  arms  about  my  neck,  turned  to  Sola, 
[199] 


'A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


saying  with  quiet  dignity:  "Fly,  Sola!  Dejah 
Thoris  remains  to  die  with  the  man  she  loves." 

Those  words  are  engraved  upon  my  heart.  Ah, 
gladly  would  I  give  up  my  life  a  thousand  times 
could  I  only  hear  them  once  again;  but  I  could 
not  then  give  even  a  second  to  the  rapture  of  her 
sweet  embrace,  and  pressing  my  lips  to  hers  for 
the  first  time,  I  picked  her  up  bodily  and  tossed 
her  to  her  seat  behind  Sola  again,  commanding  the 
latter  in  peremptory  tones  to  hold  her  there  by 
force,  and  then,  slapping  the  thoat  upon  the  flank, 
I  saw  them  borne  away;  Dejah  Thoris  struggling 
to  the  last  to  free  herself  from  Sola's  grasp. 

Turning,  I  beheld  the  green  warriors  mounting 
the  ridge  and  looking  for  their  chieftain.  In  a 
moment  they  saw  him,  and  then  me;  but  scarcely 
had  they  discovered  me  than  I  commenced  firing, 
lying  flat  upon  my  belly  in  the  moss.  I  had  an 
even  hundred  rounds  in  the  magazine  of  my  rifle, 
and  another  hundred  in  the  belt  at  my  back,  and  I 
kept  up  a  continuous  stream  of  fire  until  I  saw  all 
of  the  warriors  who  had  been  first  to  return  from 
behind  the  ridge  either  dead  or  scurrying  to  cover. 

My  respite  was  short  lived  however,  for  soon 
the  entire  party,  numbering  some  thousand  men, 
came  charging  into  view,  racing  madly  toward  me. 
[200] 


A  COSTLY  RECAPTURE 


I  fired  until  my  rifle  was  empty  and  they  were 
almost  upon  me,  and  then  a  glance  showing  me 
that  Dejah  Thoris  and  Sola  had  disappeared 
among  the  hills,  I  sprang  up,  throwing  down  my 
useless  gun,  and  started  away  in  the  direction 
opposite  to  that  taken  by  Sola  and  her  charge. 

If  ever  Martians  had  an  exhibition  of  jumping, 
it  was  granted  those  astonished  warriors  on  that 
day  long  years  ago,  but  while  it  led  them  away 
from  Dejah  Thoris  it  did  not  distract  their  atten 
tion  from  endeavoring  to  capture  me. 

They  raced  wildly  after  me  until,  finally,  my 
foot  struck  a  projecting  piece  of  quartz,  and  down, 
I  went  sprawling  upon  the  moss.  As  I  looked  up 
they  were  upon  me,  and  although  I  drew  my  long- 
sword  in  an  attempt  to  sell  my  life  as  dearly  as 
possible,  it  was  soon  over.  I  reeled  beneath  their 
blows  which  fell  upon  me  in  perfect  torrents ;  my 
head  swam;  all  was  black,  and  I  went  down 
beneath  them  to  oblivion. 


[201] 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

CHAINED  IN  WARHOON 

IT  must  have  been  several  hours  before  I  re 
gained  consciousness  and  I  well  remember  the 
feeling  of  surprise  which  cwept  over  me  as  I 
realized  that  I  was  not  dead. 

I  was  lying  among  a  pile  of  sleeping  silks  and 
furs  in  the  corner  of  a  small  room  in  which  were 
several  green  warriors,  and  bending  over  me  was 
an  ancient  and  ugly  female. 

As  I  opened  my  eyes  she  turned  to  one  of  the 
warriors,  saying, 

"He  will  live,  O,  Jed." 

"  'Tis  well,"  replied  the  one  so  addressed,  ris 
ing  and  approaching  my  couch,  "  he  should  render 
rare  sport  for  the  great  games." 

And  now  as  my  eyes  fell  upon  him,  I  saw  that 
he  was  no  Thark,  for  his  ornaments  and  metal 
were  not  of  that  horde.  He  was  a  huge  fellow, 
terribly  scarred  about  the  face  and  chest,  and  with 
one  broken  tusk  and  a  missing  ear.  Strapped  on 
either  breast  were  human  skulls  and  depending 
from  these  a  number  of  dried  human  hands. 
[202] 


CHAINED  IN  WARHOON 

His  reference  to  the  great  games  of  which  I 
had  heard  so  much  while  among  the  Tharks  con 
vinced  me  that  I  had  but  jumped  from  purgatory 
into  gehenna. 

After  a  few  more  words  with  the  female,  during 
which  she  assured  him  that  I  was  now  fully  fit 
to  travel,  the  jed  ordered  that  we  mount  and  ride 
after  the  main  column. 

I  was  strapped  securely  to  as  wild  and  unman 
ageable  a  thoat  as  I  had  ever  seen,  and,  with  a 
mounted  warrior  on  either  side  to  prevent  the 
beast  from  bolting,  we  rode  forth  at  a  furious  pace 
in  pursuit  of  the  column.  My  wounds  gave  me 
but  little  pain,  so  wonderfully  and  rapidly  had  the 
applications  and  injections  of  the  female  exer 
cised  their  therapeutic  powers,  and  so  deftly  had 
she  bound  and  plastered  the  injuries. 

Just  before  dark  we  reached  the  main  body  of 
troops  shortly  after  they  had  made  camp  for  the 
night.  I  was  immediately  taken  before  the  leader, 
who  proved  to  be  the  jeddak  of  the  hordes  of 
Warhoon. 

Like  the  jed  who  had  brought  me,  he  was  fright 
fully  scarred,  and  also  decorated  with  the  breast 
plate  of  human  skulls  and  dried  dead  hands  which 
seemed  to  mark  all  the  greater  warriors  among 
[203] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


the  Warhoons,  as  well  as  to  indicate  their  awful 
ferocity,  which  greatly  transcends  even  that  of  the 
Tharks. 

The  jeddak,  Bar  Comas,  who  was  compara 
tively  young,  was  the  object  of  the  fierce  and 
jealous  hatred  of  his  old  lieutenant,  Dak  Kova, 
the  jed  who  had  captured  me,  and  I  could  not  but 
note  the  almost  studied  efforts  which  the  latter 
made  to  affront  his  superior. 

He  entirely  omitted  the  usual  formal  saluta 
tion  as  we  entered  the  presence  of  the  jeddak,  and 
as  he  pushed  me  roughly  before  the  ruler  he 
exclaimed  in  a  loud  and  menacing  voice, 

u  I  have  brought  a  strange  creature  wearing  the 
metal  of  a  Thark  whom  it  is  my  pleasure  to  have 
battle  with  a  wild  thoat  at  the  great  games." 

"He  will  die  as  Bar  Comas,  your  jeddak,  sees 
fit,  if  at  all,"  replied  the  young  ruler,  with  em 
phasis  and  dignity. 

"  If  at  all  ?  "  roared  Dak  Kova.  "  By  the  dead 
hands  at  my  throat  but  he  shall  die,  Bar  Comas. 
No  maudlin  weakness  on  your  part  shall  save 
him.  O,  would  that  Warhoon  were  ruled  by  a 
real  jeddak  rather  than  by  a  water-hearted  weak 
ling  from  whom  even  old  Dak  Kova  could  tear 
the  metal  with  his  bare  hands  1 " 
[204] 


CHAINED  IN  WARHOON 


Bar  Comas  eyed  the  defiant  and  insubordinate 
chieftain  for  an  instant,  his  expression  one  of 
haughty,  fearless  contempt  and  hate,  and  then 
without  drawing  a  weapon  and  without  uttering  a 
»word  he  hurled  himself  at  the  throat  of  his 
defamer. 

I  never  before  had  seen  two  green  Martian 
warriors  battle  with  nature's  weapons  and  the 
exhibition  of  animal  ferocity  which  ensued  was 
as  fearful  a  thing  as  the  most  disordered  imagina 
tion  could  picture.  They  tore  at  each  others'  eyes 
and  ears  with  their  hands  and  with  their  gleaming 
tusks  repeatedly  slashed  and  gored  until  both  were 
cut  fairly  to  ribbons  from  head  to  foot. 

Bar  Comas  had  much  the  better  of  the  battle 
as  he  was  stronger,  quicker  and  more  intelligent. 
It  soon  seemed  that  the  encounter  was  done  sav 
ing  only  the  final  death  thrust  when  Bar  Comas 
slipped  in  breaking  away  from  a  clinch.  It  was 
the  one  little  opening  that  Dak  Kova  needed,  and 
hurling  himself  at  the  body  of  his  adversary  he 
buried  his  single  mighty  tusk  in  Bar  Comas'  groin 
and  with  a  last  powerful  effort  ripped  the  young 
jeddak  wide  open  the  full  length  of  his  body,  the 
great  tusk  finally  wedging  in  the  bones  of  Bar 
Comas'  jaw.  Victor  and  vanquished  rolled  limp 
[205] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


and  lifeless  upon  the  moss,  a  huge  mass  of  torn 
and  bloody  flesh. 

Bar  Comas  was  stone  dead,  and  only  the  most 
herculean  efforts  on  the  part  of  Dak  Kova's 
females  saved  him  from  the  fate  he  deserved. 
Three  days  later  he  walked  without  assistance  to 
the  body  of  Bar  Comas  which,  by  custom,  had  not 
been  moved  from  where  it  fell,  and  placing  his 
foot  upon  the  neck  of  his  erstwhile  ruler  he 
assumed  the  title  of  Jeddak  of  Warhoon. 

The  dead  jeddak's  hands  and  head  were 
removed  to  be  added  to  the  ornaments  of  his 
conqueror,  and  then  his  women  cremated  what 
remained,  amid  wild  and  terrible  laughter. 

The  injuries  to  Dak  Kova  had  delayed  the 
march  so  greatly  that  it  was  decided  to  give  up 
the  expedition,  which  was  a  raid  upon  a  small 
Thark  community  in  retaliation  for  the  destruc 
tion  of  the  incubator,  until  after  the  great  games, 
and  the  entire  body  of  warriors,  ten  thousand  in 
number,  turned  back  toward  Warhoon. 

My  introduction  to  these  cruel  and  blood 
thirsty  people  was  but  an  index  to  the  scenes  I 
witnessed  almost  daily  while  with  them.  They 
are  a  smaller  horde  than  the  Tharks  but  much 
more  ferocious.  Not  a  day  passed  but  that  some 
[206] 


CHAINED  IN  WARHOON 


members  of  the  various  Warhoon  communities 
met  in  deadly  combat.  I  have  seen  as  high  as 
eight  mortal  duels  within  a  single  day. 

We  reached  the  city  of  Warhoon  after  some 
three  days  march  and  I  was  immediately  cast 
into  a  dungeon  and  heavily  chained  to  the  floor 
arid  walls.  Food  was  brought  me  at  intervals  but 
owing  to  the  utter  darkness  of  the  place  I  do  not 
know  whether  I  lay  there  days,  or  weeks,  or 
months.  It  was  the  most  horrible  experience  of 
all  my  life  and  that  my  mind  did  not  give  way  to 
the  terrors  of  that  inky  blackness  has  been  a 
wonder  to  me  ever  since.  The  place  was  filled 
with  creeping,  crawling  things;  cold,  sinuous 
bodies  passed  over  me  when  I  lay  down,  and  in 
the  darkness  I  occasionally  caught  glimpses  of 
gleaming,  fiery  eyes,  fixed  in  horrible  intentness 
upon  me.  No  sound  reached  me  from  the  world 
'above  and  no  word  would  my  jailer  vouchsafe 
when  my  food  was  brought  to  me,  although  I  at 
first  bombarded  him  with  questions. 

Finally  all  the  hatred  and  maniacal  loathing  for 
these  awful  creatures  who  had  placed  me  in  this 
horrible  place  was  centered  by  my  tottering  reason 
upon  this  single  emissary  who  represented  to  me 
the  entire  horde  of  Warhoons. 
[207] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


I  had  noticed  that  he  always  advanced  with 
his  dim  torch  to  where  he  could  place  the  food 
within  my  reach  and  as  he  stooped  to  place  it  upon 
the  floor  his  head  was  about  on  a  level  with  my 
breast.  So,  with  the  cunning  of  a  madman,  I 
backed  into  the  far  corner  of  my  cell  when  next 
I  heard  him  approaching  and  gathering  a  little 
slack  of  the  great  chain  which  held  me  in  my  hand 
I  waited  his  coming,  crouching  like  some  beast  of 
prey.  As  he  stooped  to  place  my  food  upon  the 
ground  I  swung  the  chain  above  my  head  and 
crashed  the  links  with  all  my  strength  upon  his 
skull.  Without  a  sound  he  slipped  to  the  floor, 
stone  dead. 

Laughing  and  chattering  like  the  idiot  I  was 
fast  becoming  I  fell  upon  his  prostrate  form  my 
fingers  feeling  for  his  dead  throat.  Presently  they 
came  in  contact  with  a  small  chain  at  the  end  of 
which  dangled  a  number  of  keys.  The  touch  of 
my  fingers  on  these  keys  brought  back  my  reason 
with  the  suddenness  of  thought.  No  longer  was  I 
a  jibbering  idiot,  but  a  sane,  reasoning  man  with 
the  means  of  escape  within  my  very  hands. 

As  I  was  groping  to  remove  the  chain  from 
about  my  victim's  neck  I  glanced  up  into  the  dark 
ness  to  see  six  pairs  of  gleaming  eyes  fixed,  unwink- 

[208] 


ing,  upon  me.  Slowly  they  approached  and  slowly 
I  shrank  back  from  the  awful  horror  of  them. 
Back  into  my  corner  I  crouched  holding  my  hands, 
palms  out,  before  me,  and  stealthily  on  came  the 
awful  eyes  until  they  reached  the  dead  body  at  my 
feet.  Then  slowly  they  retreated  but  this  time 
with  a  strange  grating  sound  and  finally  they 
disappeared  in  some  black  and  distant  recess  of 
my  dungeon. 


1209;? 


CHAPTER  XIX 

BATTLING  IN  THE  ARENA 

SLOWLY  I  regained  my  composure  and  finally 
essayed  again  to  attempt  to  remove  the  keys 
from  the  dead  body  of  my  former  jailer.  But  as 
I  reached  out  into  the  darkness  to  locate  it  I 
found  to  my  horror  that  it  was  gone.  Then  the 
truth  flashed  on  me;  the  owners  of  those  gleaming 
eyes  had  dragged  my  prize  away  from  me  to  be 
devoured  in  their  neighboring  lair;  as  they  had 
been  waiting  for  days,  for  weeks,  for  months, 
through  all  this  awful  eternity  of  my  imprison 
ment  to  drag  my  dead  carcass  to  their  feast. 

For  two  days  no  food  was  brought  me,  but 
then  a  new  messenger  appeared  and  my  incarcera 
tion  went  on  as  before,  but  not  again  did  I  allow 
my  reason  to  be  submerged  by  the  horror  of  my 
position. 

Shortly  after  this  episode  another  prisoner  was 

brought  in  and  chained  near  me.     By  the  dim 

torch  light  I  saw  that  he  was  a  red  Martian  and 

I  could  scarcely  await  the  departure  of  his  guards 

[210] 


BATTLING  IN  THE  ARENA 

to  address  him.  As  their  retreating  footsteps  died 
away  in  the  distance,  I  called  out  softly  the  Mar 
tian  word  of  greeting,  kaor. 

"Who  are  you  who  speaks  out  of  the  dark 
ness  ?  "  he  answered. 

"John  Carter,  a  friend  of  the  red  men  of 
Helium." 

"  I  am  of  Helium,"  he  said,  "  but  I  do  not  regall 
your  name." 

And  then  I  told  him  my  story  as  I  have  written 
it  here,  omitting  only  any  reference  to  my  love  for 
Dejah  Thoris.  He  was  much  excited  by  the  news 
of  Helium's  princess  and  seemed  quite  positive 
that  she  and  Sola  could  easily  have  reached  a  point 
of  safety  from  where  they  left  me.  He  said  that 
he  knew  the  place  well  because  the  defile  through 
which  the  Warhoon  warriors  had  passed  when 
they  discovered  us  was  the  only  one  ever  used  by 
them  when  marching  to  the  south. 

"Dejah  Thoris  and  Sola  entered  the  hills  not 
five  miles  from  a  great  waterway  and  are  now 
probably  quite  safe,"  he  assured  me. 

My  fellow  prisoner  was  Kantos  Kan,  a  padwar 

(lieutenant)   in  the  navy  of  Helium.     He  had 

been  a  member  of  the  ill-fated  expedition  which. 

had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Tharks  at  the 

fin] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


time  of  Dejah  Thoris'  capture,  and  he  briefly 
related  the  events  which  followed  the  defeat  of  the 
battleships. 

Badly  injured  and  only  partially  manned  they 
had  limped  slowly  toward  Helium,  but  while 
passing  near  the  city  of  Zodanga,  the  capital  of 
Helium's  hereditary  enemies  among  the  red  men 
of  Barsoom,  they  had  been  attacked  by  a  great 
body  of  war  vessels  and  all  but  the  craft  to  which 
Kantos  Kan  belonged  were  either  destroyed  or 
captured.  His  vessel  was  chased  for  days  by 
three  of  the  Zodangan  war  ships  but  finally  escaped 
during  the  darkness  of  a  moonless  night. 

Thirty  days  after  the  capture  of  Dejah  Thoris, 
or  about  the  time  of  our  coming  to  Thark,  his 
vessel  had  reached  Helium  with  about  ten  sur 
vivors  of  the  original  crew  of  seven  hundred 
officers  and  men.  Immediately  seven  great  fleets, 
each  of  one  hundred  mighty  war  ships,  had  been 
dispatched  to  search  for  Dejah  Thoris,  and  from 
these  vessels  two  thousand  smaller  craft  had  been 
kept  out  continuously  in  futile  search  for  the 
missing  princess. 

Two  green  Martian  communities  had  been 
wiped  off  the  face  of  Barsoom  by  the  avenging 
fleets,  but  no  trace  of  Dejah  Thoris  had  been 
[212] 


BATTLING  IN  THE  ARENA 

found.  They  had  been  searching  among  the 
northern  hordes,  and  only  within  the  past  few 
days  had  they  extended  their  quest  to  the  south. 

Kantos  Kan  had  been  detailed  to  one  of  the 
small  one  man  fliers  and  had  had  the  misfortune 
to  be  discovered  by  the  Warhoons  while  exploring 
their  city.  The  bravery  and  daring  of  the  man 
won  my  greatest  respect  and  admiration.  Alone 
he  had  landed  at  the  city's  boundary  and  on  foot 
had  penetrated  to  the  buildings  surrounding  the 
plaza.  For  two  days  and  nights  he  had  explored 
their  quarters  and  their  dungeons  in  search  of  his 
beloved  princess  only  to  fall  into  the  hands  of 
a  party  of  Warhoons  as  he  was  about  to  leave, 
after  assuring  himself  that  Dejah  Thoris  was  not 
a  captive  there. 

During  the  period  of  our  incarceration  Kantos 
Kan  and  I  became  well  acquainted,  and  formed  a 
\wrrn  personal  friendship.  A  few  days  only 
elapsed,  however,  before  we  were  dragged  forth 
from  our  dungeon  for  the  great  games.  We  were 
conducted  early  one  morning  to  an  enormous 
amphitheater,  which  instead  of  having  been  built 
upon  the  surface  of  the  ground  was  excavated 
below  the  surface.  It  had  partially  filled  with 
debris  so  that  how  large  it  had  originally  been 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


was  difficult  to  say.  In  its  present  condition  it 
held  the  entire  twenty  thousand  Warhoons  of  the 
assembled  hordes. 

The  arena  was  immense  but1  extremely  uneven 
and  unkempt.  Around  it  the  Warhoons  had  piled 
building  stone  from  -some  of  the  ruined  edifices 
of  the  ancient  city  to  prevent  the  animals  and  the 
captives  from  escaping  into  the  audience,  and  at 
each  end  had  been  constructed  cages  to  hold  them 
until  their  turns  came  to  meet  some  horrible  death 
upon  the  arena. 

Kantos  Kan  and  I  were  confined  together  in 
one  of  the  cages.  In  the  others  were  wild  calots, 
thoats,  mad  zitidars,  green  warriors,  and  women 
of  other  hordes,  and  many  strange  and  ferocious 
wild  beasts  of  Barsoom  which  I  had  never  before 
seen.  The  din  of  their  roaring,  growling  and 
squealing  was  deafening  and  the  formidable 
appearance  of  any  one  of  them  was  enough  to 
make  the  stoutest  heart  feel  grave  forebodings. 

Kantos  Kan  explained  to  me  that  at  the  end  of 
the  day  one  of  these  prisoners  would  gain  freedom 
and  the  others  would  lie  dead  about  the  arena. 
The  winners  in  the  various  contests  of  the  day 
would  be  pitted  against  each  other  until  only  two 
remained  alive;  the  victor  in  the  last  encounter 
["4] 


BATTLING  IN  THE  ARENA 

being  set  free,  whether  animal  or  man.  The  fol 
lowing  morning  the  cages  would  be  filled  with  a 
new  consignment  of  victims,  and  so  on  throughout 
the  ten  days  of  the  games. 

Shortly  after  we  had  been  caged  the  amphi 
theater  began  to  fill  and  within  an  hour  every 
available  part  of  the  seating  space  was  occupied. 
Dak  Kova,  with  his  jeds  and  chieftains,  sat  at  the 
center  of  one  side  of  the  arena  upon  a  large  raised 
platform. 

At  a  signal  from  Dak  Kova  the  doors  of  two 
cages  were  thrown  open  and  a  dozen  green  Mar 
tian  females  were  driven  to  the  center  of  the  arena. 
Each  was  given  a  dagger  and  then,  at  the  far  end, 
a  pack  of  twelve  calots,  or  wild  dogs  were  loosed 
upon  them. 

As  the  brutes,  growling  and  foaming,  rushed 
upon  the  almost  defenseless  women  I  turned  my 
head  that  I  might  not  see  the  horrid  sight.  The 
yells  and  laughter  of  the  green  horde  bore  witness 
to  the  excellent  quality  of  the  sport  and  when  I 
turned  back  to  the  arena,  as  Kantos  Kan  told  me 
it  was  over,  I  saw  three  victorious  calots,  snarling 
and  growling  over  the  bodies  of  their  prey.  The 
women  had  given  a  good  account  of  themselves. 

Next  a  mad   zitidar  was  loosed   among  the 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


remaining  dogs,  and  so  it  went  throughout  the 
long,  hot,  horrible  day. 

During  the  day  I  was  pitted  against  first  men 
and  then  beasts,  but  as  I  was  armed  with  a  long- 
sword  and  always  outclassed  my  adversary  in 
agility  and  generally  in  strength  as  well,  it  proved 
but  child's  play  to  me.  Time  and  time  again  I 
won  the  applause  of  the  bloodthirsty  multitude, 
and  toward  the  end  there  were  cries  that  I  be 
taken  from  the  arena  and  be  made  a  member  of 
the  hordes  of  Warhoon. 

Finally  there  were  but  three  of  us  left,  a  great 
green  warrior  of  some  far  northern  horde,  Kantos 
Kan,  and  myself.  The  other  two  were  to  battle 
and  then  I  to  fight  the  conqueror  for  the  liberty 
which  was  accorded  the  final  winner. 

Kantos  Kan  had  fought  several  times  during 
the  day  and  like  myself  had  always  proven  vic 
torious,  but  occasionally  by  the  smallest  of  margins, 
especially  when  pitted  against  the  green  warriors, 
I  had  little  hope  that  he  could  best  his  giant  adver 
sary  who  had  mowed  down  all  before  him  during 
the  day.  The  fellow  towered  nearly  sixteen  feet 
in  height,  while  Kantos  Kan  was  some  inches  under 
six  feet  As  they  advanced  to  meet  one  another 
I  saw  for  the  first  time  a  trick  of  Martian  swords- 


BATTLING  IN   THE  ARENA 

manship  which  centered  Kantos  Kan's  every  hope 
of  victory  and  life  on  one  cast  of  the  dice,  for,  as 
he  came  to  within  about  twenty  feet  of  the  huge 
fellow  he  threw  his  sword  arm  far  behind  him 
over  his  shoulder  and  with  a  mighty  sweep  hurled 
his  weapon  point  foremost  at  the  green  warrior. 
It  flew  true  as  an  arrow  and  piercing  the  poor 
devil's  heart  laid  him  dead  upon  the  arena. 

Kantos  Kan  and  I  were  now  pitted  against  each 
other  but  as  we  approached  to  the  encounter  I 
whispered  to  him  to  prolong  the  battle  until  nearly 
dark  in  the  hope  that  we  might  find  some  means 
of  escape.  The  horde  evidently  guessed  that  we 
had  no  hearts  to  fight  each  other  and  so  they 
howled  in  rage  as  neither  of  us  placed  a  fatal 
thrust.  Just  as  I  saw  the  sudden  coming  of  dark 
I  whispered  to  Kantos  Kan  to  thrust  his  sword 
between  my  left  arm  and  my  body.  As  he  did 
so  I  staggered  back  clasping  the  sword  tightly  with 
my  arm  and  thus  fell  to  the  ground  with  his 
weapon  apparently  protruding  from  my  chest. 
Kantos  Kan  perceived  my  coup  and  stepping 
quickly  to  my  side  he  placed  his  foot  upon  my 
neck  and  withdrawing  his  sword  from  my  body 
gave  me  the  final  death  blow  through  the  neck 
wmch  is  supposed  to  sever  the  jugular  vein,  but 
[217] 


in  this  instance  the  cold  blade  slipped  harmlessly 
into  the  sand  of  the  arena.  In  the  darkness  which 
had  now  fallen  none  could  tell  but  that  he  had 
really  finished  me.  I  whispered  to  him  to  go  and 
claim  his  freedom  and  then  look  for  me  in  the  hills 
east  of  the  city,  and  so  he  left  me. 

When  the  amphitheater  had  cleared  I  crept 
stealthily  to  the  top  and  as  the  great  excavation 
lay  far  from  the  plaza  and  in  an  untenanted  por 
tion  of  the  great  dead  city  I  had  little  trouble  in 
reaching  the  hills  beyond. 


CHAPTER  XX 

IN  THE  ATMOSPHERE  FACTORY 

FOR  two  days  I  waited  there  for  Kantos  Kan, 
but  as  he  did  not  come  I  started  off  on  foot 
in  a  northwesterly  direction  toward  a  point 
where  he  had  told  me  lay  the  nearest  waterway. 
My  only  food  consisted  of  vegetable  milk  from 
the  plants  which  gave  so  bounteously  of  this  price 
less  fluid. 

Through  two  long  weeks  I  wandered,  stumbling 
through  the  nights  guided  only  by  the  stars  and 
hiding  during  the  days  behind  some  protruding 
rock  or  among  the  occasional  hills  I  traversed. 
Several  times  I  was  attacked  by  wild  beasts; 
strange,  uncouth  monstrosities  that  leaped  upon 
me  in  the  dark,  so  that  I  had  ever  to  grasp  my 
long-sword  in  my  hand  that  I  might  be  ready  for 
them.  Usually  my  strange,  -newly  acquired  tele 
pathic  power  warned  me  in  ample  time,  but  once 
I  was  down  with  vicious  fangs  at  my  jugular  and  a 
hairy  face  pressed  close  to  mine  before  I  knew 
that  I  was  even  threatened. 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


What  manner  of  thing  was  upon  me  I  did  not 
know,  but  that  it  was  large  and  heavy  and  many- 
legged  I  could  feel.  My  hands  were  at  its  throat 
before  the  fangs  had  a  chance  to  bury  themselves 
in  my  neck,  and  slowly  I  forced  the  hairy  face 
from  me  and  closed  my  fingers,  vise-like,  upon  its 
windpipe. 

Without  sound  we  lay  there,  the  beast  exerting 
every  effort  to  reach  me  with  those  awful  fangs, 
and  I  straining  to  maintain  my  grip  and  choke  the 
life  from  it  as  I  kept  it  from  my  throat.  Slowly 
my  arms  gave  to  the  unequal  struggle,  and  inch  by 
inch  the  burning  eyes  and  gleaming  tusks  of  my 
antagonist  crept  toward  me,  until,  as  the  hairy  face 
touched  mine  again,  I  realized  that  all  was  over. 
And  then  a  living  mass  of  destruction  sprang  from 
the  surrounding  darkness  full  upon  the  creature 
that  held  me  pinioned  to  the  ground.  The  two 
rolled  growling  upon  the  moss,  tearing  and  rend 
ing  one  another  in  a  frightful  manner,  but  it  was 
soon  over  and  my  preserver:  stood  with  lowered 
head  above  the  throat  of  the  dead  thing  which 
would  have  killed  me. 

The  nearer  moon,  hurtling  suddenly  above 
the  horizon  and  lighting  up  the  Barsoomian 
scene,  showed  me  that  my  preserver  was  Woola, 
[  220] 


IN  THE  ATMOSPHERE  FACTORY 

but  from  whence  he  had  come,  or  how  found  me, 
I  was  at  a  loss  to  know.  That  I  was  glad  of  his 
companionship  it  is  needless  to  say,  but  my  pleasure 
at  seeing  him  was  tempered  by  anxiety  as  to  the 
reason  of  his  leaving  Dejah  Thoris.  Only  her 
death  I  felt  sure,  could  account  for  his  absence 
from  her,  so  faithful  I  knew  him  to  be  to  my 
commands. 

By  the  light  of  the  now  brilliant  moons  I  saw 
that  he  was  but  a  shadow  of  his  former  self,  and 
as  he  turned  from  my  caress  and  commenced 
greedily  to  devour  the  dead  carcass  at  my  feet  I 
realized  that  the  poor  fellow  was  more  than  half 
starved.  I,  myself,  was  in  but  little  better  plight 
but  I  could  not  bring  myself  to  eat  the  uncooked 
flesh  and  I  had  no  means  of  making  a  fire.  When 
Woola  had  finished  his  meal  I  again  took  up  my 
weary  and  seemingly  endless  wandering  in  quest 
of  the  elusive  waterway. 

At  daybreak  of  the  fifteenth  day  of  my  search 
I  was  overjoyed  to  see  the  high  trees  that  denoted 
the  object  of  my  search.  About  noon  I  dragged 
myself  wearily  to  the  portals  of  a  huge  building 
which  covered  perhaps  four  square  miles  and 
towered  two  hundred  feet  in  the  air.  It  showed 
no  aperture  in  the  mighty  walls  other  than  the 
[221] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


tiny  door  at  which  I  sank  exhausted,  nor  was  there 
any  sign  of  life  about  it. 

I  could  find  no  bell  or  other  method  of  making 
my  presence  known  to  the  inmates  of  the  place, 
unless  a  small  round  hole  in  the  wall  near  the  door 
was  for  that  purpose.  It  was  of  about  the  bigness 
of  a  lead  pencil  and  thinking  that  it  might  be  in 
the  nature  of  a  speaking  tube  I  put  my  mouth  to 
it  and  was  about  to  call  into  it  when  a  voice  issued 
from  it  asking  me  whom  I  might  be,  where  from, 
and  the  nature  of  my  errand. 

I  explained  that  I  had  escaped  from  the  War- 
hoons  and  was  dying  of  starvation  and  exhaustion. 

"You  wear  the  metal  of  a  green  warrior  and 
are  followed  by  a  calot,  yet  you  are  of  the  figure 
of  a  red  man.  In  color  you  are  neither  green  nor 
red.  In  the  name  of  the  ninth  day,  what  manner 
of  creature  are  you?" 

"I  am  a  friend  of  the  red  men  of  Barsoom 
and  I  am  starving.  In  the  name  of  humanity  open 
to  us,"  I  replied. 

Presently  the  door  commenced  to  recede  before 
me  until  it  had  sunk  into  the  wall  fifty  feet,  then  it 
•stopped  and  slid  easily  to  the  left,  exposing  a  short, 
narrow  corridor  of  concrete,  at  the  further  end  of 
which  was  another  door,  similar  in  every  respect 
[222] 


IN  THE  ATMOSPHERE  FACTORY 

to  the  one  I  had  just  passed.  No  one  was  in  sight, 
yet  immediately  we  passed  the  first  door  it  slid 
gently  into  place  behind  us  and  receded  rapidly  to 
its  original  position  in  the  front  wall  of  the  build 
ing.  As  the  door  had  slipped  aside  I  had  noted  its 
great  thickness,  fully  twenty  feet,  and  as  it  reached 
its  place  once  more  after  closing  behind  us,  great 
cylinders  of  steel  had  dropped  from  the  ceiling 
behind  it  and  fitted  their  lower  ends  into  apertures 
countersunk  in  the  floor. 

A  second  and  a  third  door  receded  before  me 
and  slipped  to  one  side  as  the  first,  before  I  reached 
a  large  inner  chamber  where  I  found  food  and 
drink  set  out  upon  a  great  stone  table.  A  voice 
directed  me  to  satisfy  my  hunger  and  to  feed  my 
calot,  and  while  I  was  thus  engaged  my  invisible 
host  put  me  through  a  severe  and  searching  cross- 
examination. 

"Your  statements  are  most  remarkable,"  said 
the  voice,  on  concluding  its  questioning,  "bat  you 
are  evidently  speaking  the  truth,  and  it  is  equally 
evident  that  you  are  not  of  Barsoom.  I  can  tell 
that  by  the  conformation  of  your  brain  and  the 
strange  location  of  your  internal  organs  and  the 
shape  and  size  of  your  heart." 

"  Can  you  see  through  me  ?  "  I  exclaimed. 
[223] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


"  Yes,  I  can  see  all  but  your  thoughts,  and  were 
you  a  Barsoomian  I  could  read  those." 

Then  a  door  opened  at  the  far  side  of  the 
chamber  and  a  strange,  dried  up,  little  mummy  of 
a  man  came  toward  me.  He  wore  but  a  single 
article  of  clothing  or  adornment,  a  small  collar  of 
gold  from  which  depended  upon  his  chest  a  great 
ornament  as  large  as  a  dinner  plate  set  solid  with 
huge  diamonds,  except  for  the  exact  center  which 
was  occupied  by  a  strange  stone,  an  inch  in  diam 
eter,  that  scintillated  nine  different  and  distinct 
rays;  the  seven  colors  of  our  earthly  prism  and 
two  beautiful  rays  which,  to  me,  were  new  and 
nameless.  I  cannot  describe  them  any  more  than 
you  could  describe  red  to  a  blind  man.  I  only 
know  that  they  were  beautiful  in  the  extreme. 

The  old  man  sat  and  talked  with  me  for  hours, 
and  the  strangest  part  of  our  intercourse  was  that 
I  could  read  his  every  thought  while  he  could  not 
fathom  an  iota  from  my  mind  unless  I  spoke. 

I  did  not  apprise  him  of  my  ability  to  sense  his 
mental  operations,  and  thus  I  learned  a  great  deal 
which  proved  of  immense  value  to  me  later  and 
which  I  would  never  have  known  had  he  suspected 
my  strange  power,  for  the  Martians  have  such 
perfect  control  of  their  mental  machinery  that  they 
[224] 


IN  THE  ATMOSPHERE  FACTORY 

are  able  to  direct  their  thoughts  with  absolute 
precision. 

The  building  in  which  I  found  myself  contained 
the  machinery  which  produces  that  artificial  atmos 
phere  which  sustains  life  on  Mars.  The  secret  of 
the  entire  process  hinges  on  the  use  of  the  ninth 
ray,  one  of  the  beautiful  scintillations  which  I  had 
noted  emanating  from  the  great  stone  in  my  host's 
diadem. 

This  ray  is  separated  from  the  other  rays  of 
the  sun  by  means  of  finely  adjusted  instruments 
placed  upon  the  roof  of  the  huge  building,  three- 
quarters  of  which  is  used  for  reservoirs  in  which 
the  ninth  ray  b  stored.  This  product  is  then 
treated  electrically,  or  rather  certain  proportions 
of  refined  electric  vibrations  are  incorporated  with 
it,  and  the  result  is  then  pumped  to  the  five  pitn- 
'cipal  air  centers  of  the  planet  where,  as  it  is  re 
leased,  contact  with  the  ether  of  space  transforms 
it  into  atmosphere. 

There  is  always  sufficient  reserve  of  the  ninth 
ray  stored  in  the  great  building  to  maintain  the 
present  Martian  atmosphere  for  a  thousand  years, 
and  the  only  fear,  as  my  new  friend  told  me,  was 
that  some  accident  might  befall  the  pumping 
apparatus. 

[225] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


He  led  me  to  an  inner  chamber  where  I  beheld 
a  battery  of  twenty  radium  pumps  any  one  of 
which  was  equal  to  the  task  of  furnishing  all  Mars 
with  the  atmosphere  compound.  For  eight 
hundred  years,  he  told  me,  he  had  watched  these 
pumps  which  are  used  alternately  a  day  each  at  a 
stretch,  or  a  little  over  twenty-four  and  one-half 
Earth  hours.  He  has  one  assistant  who  divides 
the  watch  with  him.  Half  a  Martian  year,  about 
three  hundred  and  forty-four  of  our  days,  each 
of  these  men  spend  alone  in  this  huge,  isolated 
plant. 

Erery  red  Martian  is  taught  during  earliest 
childhood  the  principles  of  the  manufacture  of 
atmosphere,  but  only  two  at  one  time  ever  hold 
the  secret  of  ingress  to  the  great  building,  which, 
built  as  it  is  with  walls  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
thick,  is  absolutely  unassailable,  even  the  roof 
being  guarded  from  assault  by  air  craft  by  a  glass 
covering  five  feet  thick. 

The  only  fear  they  entertain  of  attack  is  from 
the  green  Martians  or  some  demented  red  man, 
as  all  Barsoomians  realize  that  the  very  existence 
of  every  form  of  life  on  Mars  is  dependent  upon 
the  uninterrupted  working  of  this  plant. 

One  curious  fact  I  discovered  as  I  watched  his 
[226] 


THE  OLD  MAN  SAT  AND  TALKED  WITH  ME  FOR  HOURS. 

Page  224 


IN  THE  ATMOSPHERE  FACTORY 

thoughts  was  that  the  outer  doors  are  manipulated 
by  telepathic  means.  The  locks  are  so  finely 
adjusted  that  the  doors  are  released  by  the  action 
of  a  certain  combination  of  thought  waves.  To 
experiment  with  my  new-found  toy  I  thought  to 
surprise  him  into  revealing  this  combination  and 
so  I  asked  him  in  a  casual  manner  how  he  had 
managed  to  unlock  the  massive  doors  for  me  from 
the  inner  chambers  of  the  building.  As  quick  as 
a  flash  there  leaped  to  his  mind  nine  Martian 
sounds,  but  as  quickly  faded  as  he  answered  that 
this  was  a  secret  he  must  not  divulge. 

From  then  on  his  manner  toward  me  changed 
as  though  he  feared  that  he  had  been  surprised 
into  divulging  his  great  secret,  and  I  read  sus 
picion  and  fear  in  his  looks  and  thoughts,  though 
his  words  were  still  fair. 

Before  I  retired  for  the  night  he  promised  to 
give  me  a  letter  to  a  near-by  agricultural  officer 
who  would  help  me  on  my  way  to  Zodanga,  which 
he  said,  was  the  nearest  Martian  city. 

"  But  be  sure  that  you  do  not  let  them  know 
you  are  bound  for  Helium  as  they  are  at  war  with 
that  country.  My  assistant  and  I  are  of  no 
country,  we  belong  to  all  Barsoom  and  this  talis 
man  which  we  wear  protects  us  in  all  lands,  even 
[227] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


among  the  green  men  —  though  we  do  not  trust 
ourselves  to  their  hands  if  we  can  avoid  it,"  he 
added. 

"  And  so  good-night,  my  friend,"  he  continued, 
"may  you  have  a  long  and  restful  sleep — yes,  a 
long  sleep." 

And  though  he  smiled  pleasantly  I  saw  in  his 
thoughts  the  wish  that  he  had  never  admitted  me, 
and  then  a  picture  of  him  standing  over  me  in  the 
night,  and  the  swift  thrust  of  a  long  dagger  and 
the  half  formed  words,  "  I  am  sorry,  but  it  is  for 
the  best  good  of  Barsoom." 

As  he  closed  the  door  of  my  chamber  behind 
him  his  thoughts  were  cut  off  from  me  as  was  the 
sight  of  him,  which  seemed  strange  to  me  in  my 
little  knowledge  of  thought  transference. 

What  was  I  to  do?  How  could  I  escape 
through  these  mighty  walls?  Easily  could  I  kill 
him  now  that  I  was  warned,  but  once  he  was  dead 
I  could  no  more  escape,  and  with  the  stopping  of 
the  machinery  of  the  great  plant  I  should  die  with 
all  the  other  inhabitants  of  the  planet — all,  even 
Dejah  Thoris  were  she  not  already  dead.  For 
the  others  I  did  not  give  the  snap  of  my  Snger, 
but  the  thought  of  Dejah  Thoris  drove  from  my 
mind  all  desire  to  kill  my  mistaken  host. 
[228] 


IN  THE  ATMOSPHERE  FACTORY 

Cautiously  I  openecl  the  door  of  my  apartment 
and,  followed  by  Woola,  sought  the  inner  of  the 
great  doors.  A  wild  scheme  had  come  to  me;  I 
would  attempt  to  force  the  great  locks  by  the  nine 
thought  waves  I  had  read  in  my  host's  mind. 

Creeping  stealthily  through  corridor  after  cor 
ridor  and  down  winding  runways  which  turned 
hither  and  thither  I  finally  reached  the  great  hall 
in  which  I  had  broken  my  long  fast  that  morning. 
Nowhere  had  I  seen  my  host,  nor  did  I  know 
where  he  kept  himself  by  night. 

I  was  on  the  point  of  stepping  boldly  out  into 
the  room  when  a  slight  noise  behind  me  warned 
me  back  into  the  shadows  of  a  recess  in  the  cor 
ridor.  Dragging  Woola  after  me  I  crouched  low 
in  the  darkness. 

Presently  the  old  man  passed  close  by  me,  and 
as  he  entered  the  dimly  lighted  chamber  which 
I  had  been  about  to  pass  through  I  saw  that  he 
held  a  long  thin  dagger  in  his  hand  and  that  he 
was  sharpening  it  upon  a  stone.  In  his  mind  was 
the  decision  to  inspect  the  radium  pumps,  which 
would  take  about  thirty  minutes,  and  then  return 
to  my  bed  chamber  and  finish  me. 

As  he  passed  through  the  great  hall  and  disap 
peared  down  the  runway  which  led  to  the  pump- 
[229] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


room,  I  stole  stealthily  from  my  hiding  place  and 
crossed  to  the  great  door,  the  inner  of  the  three 
which  stood  between  me  and  liberty. 

Concentrating  my  mind  upon  the  massive  lock 
I  hurled  the  nine  thought  waves  against  it.  In 
breathless  expectancy  I  waited,  when  finally  the 
great  door  moved  softly  toward  me  and  slid  quietly 
to  one  side.  One  after  the  other  the  remaining 
mighty  portals  opened  at  my  command  and  Woola 
and  I  stepped  forth  into  the  darkness,  free,  but 
little  better  off  than  we  had  been  before,  other 
than  that  we  had  full  stomachs. 

Hastening  away  from  the  shadows  of  the  for 
midable  pile  I  made  for  the  first  crossroad,  intend 
ing  to  strike  the  central  turnpike  as  quickly  as 
possible.  This  I  reached  about  morning  and 
entering  the  first  enclosure  I  came  to  I  searched 
for  some  evidences  of  a  habitation. 

There  were  low  rambling  buildings  of  concrete 
barred  with  heavy  impassable  doors,  and  no 
amount  of  hammering  and  hallooing  brought  any 
response.  Weary  and  exhausted  from  sleepless 
ness  I  threw  myself  upon  the  ground  commanding 
Woola  to  stand  guard. 

Some  time  later  I  was  awakened  by  his  frightful 
growlings  and  opened  my  eyes  to  see  three  red 

[230] 


IN  THE  ATMOSPHERE  FACTORY 

Martians  standing  a  short  distance  from  us  and 
covering  me  with  their  rifles. 

**I  am  unarmed  and  no  enemy,"  I  hastened  to 
explain.  "  I  have  been  a  prisoner  among  the  green 
men  and  am  on  my  way  to  Zodanga.  All  I  ask 
is  food  and  rest  for  myself  and  my  calot  and  the 
proper  directions  for  reaching  my  destination." 

They  lowered  their  rifles  and  advanced  pleas 
antly  toward  me  placing  their  right  hands  upon 
my  left  shoulder,  after  the  manner  of  their  custom 
of  salute,  and  asking  me  many  questions  about 
myself  and  my  wanderings.  They  then  took  me 
to  the  house  of  one  of  them  which  was  only  a 
short  distance  away. 

The  buildings  I  had  been  hammering  at  in  the 
early  morning  were  occupied  only  by  stock  and 
farm  produce,  the  house  proper  standing  among  a 
grove  of  enormous  trees,  and,  like  all  red-Mar 
tian  homes,  had  been  raised  at  night  some  forty 
or  fifty  feet  from  the  ground  on  a  large  round 
metal  shaft  which  slid  up  or  down  within  a  sleeve 
sunk  in  the  ground,  and  was  operated  by  a  tiny 
radium  engine  in  the  entrance  hall  of  the  buflding. 
Instead  of  bothering  with  bolts  and  bars  for  their 
dwellings,  the  red  Martians  simply  run  them  up 
out  of  harm's  way  during  the  night.  They  also 
[231] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


have  private  means  for  lowering  or  raising  them 
from  the  ground  without  if  they  wish  to  go  away 
and  leave  them. 

These  brothers,  with  their  wives  and  children,  ( 
occupied  three  similar  houses  on  this  farm.  They 
did  no  work  themselves,  being  government  officers 
in  charge.  The  labor  was  performed  by  convicts, 
prisoners  of  war,  delinquent  debtors  and  confirmed 
bachelors  who  were  too  poor  to  pay  the  high 
celibate  tax  which  all  red-Martian  governments 
impose. 

They  were  the  personification  of  cordiality  and 
hospitality  and  I  spent  several  days  with  them, 
resting  and  recuperating  from  my  long  and  arduous 
experiences. 

When  they  had  heard  my  story — I  omitted  all 
reference  to  Dejah  Thoris  and  the  old  man  of  the 
atmosphere  plant — they  advised  me  to  color  my 
body  to  more  nearly  resemble  their  own  race  and 
then  attempt  to  find  employment  in  Zodanga, 
either  in  the  army  or  the  navy. 

"The  chances  are  small  that  your  tale  will  be 
believed  until  after  you  have  proven  your  trust 
worthiness  and  won  friends  among  the  higher 
nobles  of  the  court.  This  you  can  most  easily  do 
through  military  service,  as  we  are  a  warlike 

[232] 


people  on  Barsoom,"  explained  one  of  them,  "  and 
save  our  richest  favors  for  the  fighting  man." 

When  I  was  ready  to  depart  they  furnished  nie 
with  a  small  domestic  bull  thoat,  such  as  is  used 
for  saddle  purposes  by  all  red  Martians.  The 
animal  is  about  the  size  of  a  horse  and  quite  gentle, 
but  in  color  and  shape  an  exact  replica  of  his  huge 
and  fierce  cousin  of  the  wilds. 

The  brothers  had  supplied  me  with  a  reddish 
oil  with  which  I  anointed  my  entire  body  and  one 
of  them  cut  my  hair,  which  had  grown  quite  long, 
in  the  prevailing  fashion  of  the  time,  square  at  the 
back  and  banged  in  front,  so  that  I  could  have 
passed  anywhere  upon  Barsoom  as  a  full-fledged 
red  Martian.  My  metal  and  ornaments  were  also 
renewed  in  the  style  of  a  Zodangan  gentleman, 
attached  to  the  house  of  Ptor,  which  was  the 
family  name  of  my  benefactors. 

They  filled  a  little  sack  at  my  side  with  Zodangan 
money.  The  medium  of  exchange  upon  Mars  is 
not  dissimilar  from  our  own  except  that  the  coins 
are  oval.  Paper  money  is  issued  by  individuals 
as  they  require  it  and  redeemed  twice  yearly.  If 
a  man  issues  more  than  he  can  redeem,  the  govern 
ment  pays  his  creditors  in  full  and  the  debtor 
works  out  the  amount  upon  the  farms  or  in  mines, 
[233] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


which  are  all  owned  by  the  government.  '  This 
suits  everybody  except  the  debtor  as  it  has  been 
a  difficult  thing  to  obtain  sufficient  voluntary  labor 
to  work  the  great  isolated  farm  lands  of  Mars, 
stretching  as  they  do  like  narrow  ribbons  from 
pole  to  pole,  through  wild  stretches  peopled  by 
wild  animals  and  wilder  men. 

When  I  mentioned  my  inability  to  repay  them 
for  their  kindness  to  me  they  assured  me  that  I 
would  have  ample  opportunity  if  I  lived  long  upon 
Barsoom,  and  bidding  me  farewell  they  watched 
me  until  I  was  out  of  sight  upon  the  broad  white 
turnpike. 


t*34l 


As 


CHAPTER  XXI 

AN  AIR  SCOUT  FOR  ZODANGA 

S  I  proceeded  on  my  journey  toward  Zodanga 


•many  strange  and  interesting  sights  arrested 
my  attention,  and  at  the  several  farm  houses  where 
I  stopped  I  learned  a  number  of  new  and  instruc 
tive  things  concerning  the  methods  and  manners 
of  Barsoom. 

The  water  which  supplies  the  farms  of  Mars 
is  collected  in  immense  underground  reservoirs  at 
either  pole  from  the  melting  ice  caps,  and  pumped 
through  long  conduits  to  the  various  populated 
centers.  Along  either  side  of  these  conduits,  and 
extending  their  entire  length,  lie  the  cultivated  dis 
tricts.  These  are  divided  into  tracts  of  about  the 
same  size,  each  tract  being  under  the  supervision 
of  one  or  more  government  officers. 

Instead  of  flooding  the  surface  of  the  fields,  and 
thus  wasting  immense  quantities  of  water  by  evap 
oration,  the  precious  liquid  is  carried  underground 
through  a  vast  network  of  small  pipes  directly  to 
the  roots  of  the  vegetation.  The  crops  upon  Marf 

[235] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


are  always  uniform,  for  there  are  no  droughts,  no 
rains,  no  high  winds,  and  no  insects,  or  destroying 
birds. 

On  this  trip  I  tasted  the  first  meat  I  had  eaten 
since  leaving  Earth — large,  juicy  steaks  and  chops 
from  the  well  fed  domestic  animals  of  the  farms. 
Also  I  enjoyed  luscious  fruits  and  vegetables,  but 

not  a  single  article  of  food  which  was  exactly  sim- 
JL 

ilar  to  anything  on  Earth.  Every  plant  and  flower 
and  vegetable  and  animal  has  been  so  re6ned  by 
ages  of  careful,  scientific  cultivation  and  breeding 
that  the  like  of  them  on  Earth  dwindled  into  pale, 
gray,  characterless  nothingness  by  comparison. 

At  a  second  stop  I  met  some  highly  cultivated 
people  of  the  noble  class  and  while  in  conversation 
we  chanced  to  speak  of  Helium.  One  of  the  older 
men  had  been  there  on  a  diplomatic  mission  several 
years  before  and  spoke  with  regret  of  the  condi 
tions  which  seemed  destined  ever  to  keep  these  two 
countries  at  war. 

"Helium,"  he  said,  "rightly  boasts  the  most 
beautiful  women  of  Barsoom,  and  of  all  her 
treasures  the  wondrous  daughter  of  Mors  Kajak, 
Dejah  Thoris,  is  the  most  exquisite  flower. 

"Why,"  he  added,  "the  people  really  worship 
the  ground  she  walks  upon  and  since  her  loss  on 
[236] 


AN  AIR  SCOUT  FOR  ZODANGA 

that  ill-starred  expedition  all  Helium  has  been 
draped  in  mourning. 

"  That  our  ruler  should  have  attacked  the  dis 
abled  fleet  as  it  was  returning  to  Helium  was  but 
another  of  his  awful  blunders  which  I  fear  will 
sooner  or  later  compel  Zodanga  to  elevate  a 
wiser  man  to  his  place. 

"Even  now,  though  our  victorious  armies  are 
surrounding  Helium,  the  people  of  Zodanga  are 
voicing  their  displeasure,  for  the  war  is  not  a 
popular  one,  since  it  is  not  based  on  right  or  jus 
tice.  Our  forces  took  advantage  of  the  absence 
of  the  principal  fleet  of  Hefium  on  their  search 
for  the  princess,  and  so  we  have  been  able  easily 
to  reduce  the  city  to  a  sorry  plight.  It  is  said  she 
will  fall  within  the  next  few  passages  of  the 
further  moon." 

"And  what,  think  you,  may  have  been  the  fate 
of  the  princess,  Dejah  Thoris?"  I  asked  as 
casually  as  possible. 

" She  is  dead,"  he  answered.  "This  much  was 
learned  from  a  green  warrior  recently  captured 
by  our  forces  in  the  south.  She  escaped  from  the 
hordes  of  Thark  with  a  strange  creature  of  another 
world,  only  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Warhoons. 
Their  thoats  were  found  wandering  upon  the 

[237] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


bottom  and  evidences  of  a  bloody  conflict  were 
discovered  near-by." 

While  this  information  was  in  no  way  reassur 
ing,  neither  was  it  at  all  conclusive  proof  of  the 
death  of  Dejah  Thoris,  and  so  I  determined  to 
make  every  effort  possible  to  reach  Helium  as 
quickly  as  I  could  and  carry  to  Tardos  Mors  such 
news  of  his  granddaughter's  possible  whereabouts 
as  lay  in  my  power. 

Ten  days  after  leaving  the  three  Ptor  brothers 
I  arrived  at  Zodanga.  From  the  moment  that  I 
had  come  in  contact  with  the  red  inhabitants  of 
Mars  I  had  noticed  that  Woola  drew  a  great 
amount  of  unwelcome  attention  to  me,  since  the 
huge  brute  belonged  to  a  species  which  is  never 
domesticated  by  the  red  men.  Were  one  to  stroll 
down  Broadway  with  a  Numidian  lion  at  his  heels 
the  effect  would  be  somewhat  similar  to  that  which 
I  should  have  produced  had  I  entered  Zodanga 
with  Woola. 

The  very  thought  of  parting  with  the  faithful 
fellow  caused  me  so  great  regret  and  genuine  sor 
row  that  I  put  it  off  until  just  before  we  arrived  at 
the  city's  gates ;  but  then,  finally,  it  became  impera 
tive  that  we  separate.  Had  nothing  further  than 
my  own  safety  or  pleasure  been  at  stake  no  argu- 
[238] 


ment  could  have  prevailed  upon  me  to  turn 
the  one  creature  upon  Barsoom  that  had  never 
failed  in  a  demonstration  of  affection  and  loyalty; 
but  as  I  would  willingly  have  offered  my  life  in 
the  service  of  her  in  search  of  whom  I  was  about 
to  challenge  the  unknown  dangers  of  this,  to  me, 
mysterious  city,  I  could  not  permit  even  Woola's 
life  to  threaten  the  success  of  my  venture,  much 
less  his  momentary  happiness,  for  I  doubted  not 
he  soon  would  forget  me.  And  so  I  bade  the  poor 
beast  an  affectionate  farewell,  promising  him, 
however,  that  if  I  came  through  my  adventure  in 
safety  that  in  some  way  I  should  find  the  means  to 
search  him  out. 

He  seemed  to  understand  me  fully,  and  when  I 
pointed  back  in  the  direction  of  Thark  he  turned 
sorrowfully  away,  nor  could  I  bear  to  watch  him 
go;  but  resolutely  set  my  face  toward  Zodanga 
and  with  a  touch  of  heartsickness  approached  her. 
frowning  walls. 

The  letter  I  bore  from  them  gained  me  imme 
diate  entrance  to  the  vast,  walled  city.  It  was 
still  very  early  in  the  morning  and  the  streets 
were  practically  deserted.  The  residences,  raised 
high  upon  their  metal  columns,  resembled  huge 
rookeries,  while  the  uprights  themselves  presented 

[239] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


the  appearance  of  steel  tree  trunks.  The  shops 
as  a  rule  were  not  raised  from  the  ground  nor 
were  their  doors  bolted  or  barred,  since  thievery 
is  practically  unknown  upon  Barsoom.  Assassina 
tion  is  the  ever  present  fear  of  all  Barsoomians, 
and  for  this  reason  alone  their  homes  are  raised 
high  above  the  ground  at  night,  or  in  times  of 
danger. 

The  Ptor  brothers  had  given  me  explicit  direc 
tions  for  reaching  the  point  of  the  city  where  I 
could  find  living  accommodations  and  be  near  the 
offices  of  the  government  agents  to  whom  they 
had  given  me  letters.  My  way  led  to  the  central 
square  or  plaza,  which  is  a  characteristic  of  all 
Martian  cities. 

The  plaza  of  Zodanga  covers  a  square  mile  and 
is  bounded  by  the  palaces  of  the  jeddak,  the  jeds, 
and  other  members  of  the  royalty  and  nobility  of 
Zodanga,  as  well  as  by  the  principal  public  build 
ings,  cafes,  and  shops. 

As  I  was  crossing  the  great  square  lost  in  wonder 
and  admiration  of  the  magnificent  architecture 
and  the  gorgeous  scarlet  vegetation  which  carpeted 
the  broad  lawns  I  discovered  a  red  Martian  walk 
ing  briskly  toward  me  from  one  of  the  avenues. 
He  paid  not  the  slightest  attention  to  me,  but  as 
[240] 


AN  AIR  SCOUT  FOR  ZODANGA 

he  came  abreast  I  recognized  him,  and  turning  I 
placed  my  hand  upon  his  shoulder,  calling  out  : 

"Kaor,  KantosKan!" 

Like  lightning  he  wheeled  and  before  I  could 
so  much  as  lower  my  hand  the  point  of  his  long- 
sword  was  at  my  breast. 

"Who  are  you?"  he  growled,  and  then  as-  a 
backward  leap  carried  me  fifty  feet  from  his  sword 
he  dropped  the  point  to  the  ground  and  exclaimed, 
laughing, 

"  I  do  not  need  a  better  reply,  there  is  but  one 
man  upon  all  Barsoom  who  can  bounce  about  Kke 
a  rubber  ball.  By  the  mother  of  the  further  moon, 
John  Carter,  how  came  you  here,  and  have  you 
become  a  Darseen  that  you  can  change  your  color 
at  will  ? 

"  You  gave  me  a  bad  half  minute  my  friend," 
he  continued,  after  I  had  briefly  outlined  my  adven 
tures  since  parting  with  him  in  the  arena  at  War- 
hoorv.  "Were  my  name  and  city  known  to  the 
Zodangans  I  would  shortly  be  sitting  on  the  banks 


of  the  lost  sea  of  Korus  with  my  revered 
departed  ancestors.  I  am  here  in  the  interests  of 
Tardos  Mors,  Jeddak  of  Helium,  to  discover  the 
whereabouts  of  Dejah  Thoris,  oair  princess.  Sab 
Than,  prince  of  Zodanga,  has  her  hidden  in  the 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


rity  and  has  fallen  madly  in  love  with  her.  His 
father,  Than  Kosis,  Jeddak  of  Zodanga,  has  made 
her  voluntary  marriage  to  his  son  the  price  of 
peace  between  our  countries,  but  Tardos  Mors 
will  not  accede  to  the  demands  and  has  sent  word 
that  he  and  his  people  would  rather  look  upon  the 
dead  face  of  their  princess  than  see  her  wed  to 
any  than  her  own  choice,  and  that  personally  he 
would  prefer  being  engulfed  in  the  ashes  of  a  lost 
and  burning  Helium  to  joining  the  metal  of  his 
house  with  that  of  Than  Kosis.  His  reply  was 
the  deadliest  affront  he  could  have  put  upon  Than 
Kosis  and  the  Zodangans,  but  his  people  love  him 
the  more  for  it  and  his  strength  in  Helium  is 
greater  today  than  ever. 

"  I  have  been  here  three  days,"  continued  Kan- 
tos  Kan,  "but  I  have  not  yet  found  where  Dejah 
Thoris  is  imprisoned.  Today  I  join  the  Zodangan 
navy  as  an  air  scout  and  I  hope  in  this  way  to  win 
the  confidence  of  Sab  Than,  the  prince,  who  is 
commander  of  this  division  of  the  navy,  and  thus 
learn  the  whereabouts  of  Dejah  Thoris.  I  am 
glad  that  you  are  here,  John  Carter,  for  I  know 
your  loyalty  to  my  princess  and  two  of  us  working 
together  should  be  able  to  accomplish  much." 

The  plaza  was  now  commencing  to  fill  with 
[242] 


AN  AIR  SCOUT  FOR  ZODANGA 

»• .--11  ••  H  '        'I  —  "  II.—  —  .1          Illl  ••.•Mil  I  ••^•••Q 

people  going  and  coming  upon  the  daily  activities 
of  their  duties.  The  shops  were  opening  and  the 
cafes  filling  with  early  morning  patrons.  Kantos 
Kan  led  me  to  one  of  these  gorgeous  eating  places 
•where  we  were  served  entirely  by  mechanical  appa 
ratus.  No  hand  touched  the  food  from  the  time 
it  entered  the  building  in  its  raw  state  until  it 
emerged  hot  and  delicious  upon  the  tables  before 
the  guests,  in  response  to  the  touching  of  tiny 
buttons  to  indicate  their  desires. 

After  our  meal,  Kantos  Kan  took  me  with  him 
to  the  headquarters  of  the  air-scout  squadron  and 
introducing  me  to  his  superior  asked  that  I  be 
enrolled  as  a  member  of  the  corps.  In  accord 
ance  with  custom  an  examination  was  necessary, 
but  Kantos  Kan  had  told  me  to  have  no  fear  on 
this  score  as  he  would  attend  to  that  part  of  the 
matter.  He  accomplished  this  by  taking  my  order 
for  examination  to  the  examining  officer  and  repre 
senting  himself  as  John  Carter. 

"This  ruse  will  be  discovered  later,"  he  cheer 
fully  explained,  "  when  they  check  up  my  weights, 
measurements,  and  other  personal  identification 
data,  but  it  will  be  several  months  before  this  is 
done  and  our  mission  should  be  accomplished  or 
have  failed  long  before  that  time." 
[243] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


The  next  few  days  were  spent  by  Kantos  Kan 
in  teaching  me  the  intricacies  of  flying  and  of 
repairing  the  dainty  little  contrivances  which  the 
Martians  use  for  this  purpose.  The  body  of  the 
one-man  air  craft  is  about  sixteen  feet  long,  two 
feet  wide  and  three  inches  thick,  tapering  to  a 
point  at  each  end.  The  driver  sits  on  top  of  this 
plane  upon  a  seat  constructed  over  the  small,  noise 
less  radium  engine  which  propels  it.  The  medium 
of  buoyancy  is  contained  within  the  thin  metal 
walls  of  the  body  and  consists  of  the  eighth  Bar- 
soomian  ray,  or  ray  of  propulsion,  as  it  may  be 
termed  in  view  of  its  properties. 

This  ray,  like  the  ninth  ray,  is  unknown  on 
Earth,  but  the  Martians  have  discovered  that  it  is 
an  inherent  property  of  all  light  no  matter  from 
what  source  it  emanates.  They  have  learned  that 
it  is  the  solar  eighth  ray  which  propels  the  light 
of  the  sun  to  the  various  planets,  and  that  it  is 
the  individual  eighth  ray  of  each  planet  which 
"  reflects,"  or  propels  the  light  thus  obtained  out 
into  space  once  more.  The  solar  eighth  ray  would 
be  absorbed  by  the  surface  of  Barsoom,  but  the 
Barsoomian  eighth  ray,  which  tends  to  propel  light 
from  Mars  into  space,  is  constantly  streaming  out 
from  the  planet  constituting  a  force  of  repulsion 
[244] 


AN  AIR  SCOUT  FOR  ZODANGA 

of  gravity  which  when  confined  is  able  to  lift  enor 
mous  weights  from  the  surface  of  the  ground. 

It  is  this  ray  which  has  enabled  them  to  so  per 
fect  aviation  that  battle  ships  far  outweighing  any 
thing  known  upon  Earth  sail  as  gracefully  and 
lightly  through  the  thin  air  of  Barsoom  as  a  toy 
balloon  in  the  heavy  atmosphere  of  Earth. 

During  the  early  years  of  the  discovery  of  this 
ray  many  strange  accidents  occurred  before  the 
Martians  learned  to  measure  and  control  the  won 
derful  power  they  had  found.  In  one  instance, 
some  nine  hundred  years  before,  the  first  great 
battle  ship  to  be  built  with  eighth  ray  reservoirs 
was  stored  with  too  great  a  quantity  of  the  rays 
and  she  had  sailed  up  from  Helium  with  five 
hundred  officers  and  men,  never  to  return. 

Her  power  of  repulsion  for  the  planet  was  so 
great  that  it  had  carried  her  far  into  space,  where 
she  can  be  seen  today,  by  the  aid  of  powerful  tele 
scopes,  hurtling  through  the  heavens  ten  thousand 
miles  from  Mars;  a  tiny  satellite  that  will  thus 
encircle  Barsoom  to  the  end  of  time. 

The  fourth  day  after  my  arrival  at  Zodanga 
I  made  my  first  flight,  and  as  a  result  of  it  I  won 
a  promotion  which  included  quarters  in  the  palace 
of  Than  Kosis. 

T245] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


As  I  rose  above  the  city  I  circled  several  times, 
as  I  had  seen  Kantos  Kan  do,  and  then  throwing 
my  engine  into  top  speed  I  raced  at  terrific  velocity 
toward  the  south,  following  one  of  the  great  water 
ways  which  enter  Zodanga  from  that  direction. 

I  had  traversed  perhaps  two  hundred  miles 
in  a  little  less  than  an  hour  when  I  descried  far 
below  me  a  party  of  three  green  warriors  racing 
madly  toward  a  small  figure  on  foot  which  seemed 
to  be  trying  to  reach  the  confines  of  one  of  the 
walled  fields. 

Dropping  my  machine  rapidly  toward  them, 
and  circling  to  the  rear  of  the  warriors,  I  soon 
saw  that  the  object  of  their  pursuit  was  a  red 
Martian  wearing  the  metal  of  the  scout  squadron 
to  which  I  was  attached.  A  short  distance  away 
lay  his  tiny  flier,  surrounded  by  the  tools  with 
which  he  had  evidently  been  occupied  in  repairing 
some  damage  when  surprised  by  the  green 
warriors. 

They  were  now  almost  upon  him;  their  flying 
mounts  charging  down  on  the  relatively  puny  figure 
at  terrific  speed,  while  the  warriors  leaned  low 
to  the  right,  with  their  great  metal-shod  spears. 
Each  seemed  striving  to  be  the  first  to  impale  the 
poor  Zodangan  and  in  another  moment  his  fate 
[246] 


AN  AIR  SCOUT  FOR  ZODANGA 

would  have  been  sealed  had  it  not  been  for  my 
timely  arrival. 

Driving  my  fleet  air  craft  at  high  speed  directly 
behind  the  warriors  I  soon  overtook  them  and 
without  diminishing  my  speed  I  rammed  the  prow 
of  my  little  Hier  between  the  shoulders  of  the 
nearest.  The  impact  sufficient  to  have  torn  through 
inches  of  solid  steel,  hurled  the  fellow's  headless 
body  into  the  air  over  the  head  of  his  thoat,  where 
it  fell  sprawling  upon  the  moss.  The  mounts  of 
the  other  two  warriors  turned  squealing  in  terror, 
and  bolted  in  opposite  directions. 

Reducing  my  speed  I  circled  and  came  to  the 
ground  at  the  feet  of  the  astonished  Zodangan. 
He  was  warm  in  his  thanks  for  my  timely  aid  and 
promised  that  my  day's  work  would  bring  the 
reward  it  merited,  for  it  was  none  other  than  a 
cousin  of  the  jeddak  of  Zodanga  whose  life  I  had 
saved. 

We  wasted  no  time  in  talk  as  we  knew  that  the 
warriors  would  surely  return  as  soon  as  they  had 
gained  control  of  their  mounts.  Hastening  to  his 
damaged  machine  we  were  bending  every  effort  to 
finish  the  needed  repairs  and  had  almost  completed 
them  when  we  saw  the  two  green  monsters  return 
ing  at  top  speed  from  opposite  sides  of  us.  When 

[247] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


they  had  approached  within  a  hundred  yards  their 
thoats  again  became  unmanageable  and  absolutely 
refused  to  advance  further  toward  the  air  craft 
which  had  frightened  them. 

The  warriors  finally  dismounted  and  hobbling 
their  animals  advanced  toward  us  on  foot  with 
drawn  long-swords.  I  advanced  to  meet  the 
larger,  telling  the  Zodangan  to  do  the  best  he  could 
with  the  other.  Finishing  my  man  with  almost 
no  effort,  as  had  now  from  much  practice  become 
habitual  with  me,  I  hastened  to  return  to  my  new 
acquaintance  whom  I  found  indeed  in  desperate 
straits. 

He  was  wounded  and  down  with  the  huge  foot 
of  his  antagonist  upon  his  throat  and  the  great 
long-sword  raised  to  deal  the  final  thrust.  With 
a  bound  I  cleared  the  fifty  feet  intervening  between 
us,  and  with  out-stretched  point  drove  my  sword 
completely  through  the  body  of  the  green  warrior. 
His  sword  fell,  harmless,  to  the  ground  and  he 
sank  limply  upon  the  prostrate  form  of  the 
Zodangan. 

A  cursory  examination  of  the  latter  revealed  no 

mortal  injuries  and  after  a  brief  rest  he  asserted 

that  he  felt  fit  to  attempt  the  return  voyage.    He 

would  have  to  pilot  his  own  craft,  however,  as 

[248] 


AIR  SCOUT  FOR  ZODANGA 


these  frail  vessels  are  not  intended  to  convey  but 
a  single  person. 

Quickly  completing  the  repairs  we  rose  together 
into  the  still,  cloudless  Martian  sky,  and  at  great 
speed  and  without  further  mishap  returned  to 
Zodanga. 

As  we  neared  the  city  we  discovered  a  mighty 
concourse  of  civilians  and  troops  assembled  upon 
the  plain  before  the  city.  The  sky  was  black  with 
naval  vessels  and  private  and  public  pleasure  craft, 
flying  long  streamers  of  gay-colored  silks,  and  ban 
ners  and  flags  of  odd  and  picturesque  design. 

My  companion  signaled  that  I  slow  down,  and 
running  his  machine  close  beside  mine  suggested 
that  we  approach  and  watch  the  ceremony,  which, 
he  said,  was  for  the.  purpose  of  conferring  honors 
on  individual  officers  and  men  for  bravery  and 
other  distinguished  service.  He  then  unfurled  a 
little  ensign  which  denoted  that  his  craft  bore  a 
member  of  the  royal  family  of  Zodanga,  and 
together  we  made  our  way  through  the  maze  of 
low-lying  air  vessels  until  we  hung  directly  over 
the  jeddak  of  Zodanga  and  his  staff.  All  were 
mounted  upon  the  small  domestic  bull  thoats  of  the 
red  Martians,  and  their  trappings  and  ornamenta 
tion  bore  such  a  quantity  of  gorgeously  colored 
[249] 


'A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


feathers  that  I  could  not  but  be  struck  with  the 
startling  resemblance  the  concourse  bore  to  a  band 
of  the  red  Indians  of  my  own  Earth. 

One  of  the  staff  called  the  attention  of  Than 
Kosis  to  the  presence  of  my  companion  above 
them  and  the  ruler  motioned  for  him  to  descend. 
As  they  waited  for  the  troops  to  move  into  posi 
tion  facing  the  jeddak  the  two  talked  earnestly 
together,  the  jeddak  and  his  staff  occasionally 
glancing  up  at  me.  I  could  not  hear  their  conver 
sation  and  presently  it  ceased  and  all  dismounted, 
as  the  last  body  of  troops  had  wheeled  into  posi 
tion  before  their  emperor.  A  member  of  the  staff 
advanced  toward  the  troops,  and  calling  the  name 
of  a  soldier  commanded  him  to  advance.  The 
officer  then  recited  the  nature  of  the  heroic  act 
which  had  won  the  approval  of  the  jeddak,  and 
the  latter  advanced  and  placed  a  metal  ornament 
upon  the  left  arm  of  the  lucky  man. 

Ten  men  had  been  so  decorated  when  the  aid 
called  out, 

"John  Carter,  air  scout!" 

Never  in  my  life  had  I  been  so  surprised,  but 

the  habit  of  military  discipline  is  strong  within  me, 

and  I  dropped  my  little  machine  lightly  to  the 

ground  and  advanced  on  foot  as  I  had  seen  the 

[250] 


others  do.  As  I  halted  before  the  officer,  he 
addressed  me  in  a  voice  audible  to  the  entire 
assemblage  of  troops  and  spectators. 

"In  recognition,  John  Carter,"  he  said,  "of 
your  remarkable  courage  and  skill  in  defending 
the  person  of  the  cousin  of  the  jeddak  Than  Kosis 
and,  single-handed,  vanquishing  three  green  war 
riors,  it  is  the  pleasure  of  our  jeddak  to  confer 
on  you  the  mark  of  his  esteem." 

Than  Kosis  then  advanced  toward  me  and  plac 
ing  an  ornament  upon  me,  said: 

"  My  cousin  has  narrated  the  details  of  your 
wonderful  achievement,  which  seems  little  short 
of  miraculous,  and  if  you  can  so  well  defend  a 
cousin  of  the  jeddak  how  much  better  could  you 
defend  the  person  of  the  jeddak  himself.  You  are 
therefore  appointed  a  padwar  of  The  Guards  and 
will  be  quartered  in  my  palace  hereafter." 

I  thanked  him,  and  at  his  direction  joined  the 
members  of  his  staff.  After  the  ceremony  I 
returned  my  machine  to  its  quarters  on  the  roof 
of  the  barracks  of  the  air-scout  squadron,  and 
with  an  orderly  from  the  palace  to  guide  me  I 
reported  to  the  officer  in  charge  of  the  palace. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

I  FIND  DEJAH 

THE  major-domo  to  whom  I  reported  had 
been  given  instructions  to  station  me  near 
the  person  of  the  jeddak,  who,  in  time  of  war,  is 
always  in  great  danger  of  assassination,  as  the 
rule  that  all  is  fair  in  war  seems  to  constitute  the 
entire  ethics  of  Martian  conflict. 

He  therefore  escorted  me  immediately  to  the 
apartment  in  which  Than  Kosis  then  was.  The 
ruler  was  engaged  in  conversation  with  his  son, 
Sab  Than,  and  several  courtiers  of  his  household, 
and  did  not  perceive  my  entrance. 

The  walls  of  the  apartment  were  completely 
hung  with  splendid  tapestries  which  hid  any  win 
dows  or  doors  which  may  have  pierced  them.  The 
room  was  lighted  by  imprisoned  rays  of  sunshine 
held  between  the  ceiling  proper  and  what  appeared 
to  be  a  ground  glass  false  ceiling  a  few  inches 
below. 

My  guide  drew  aside  one  of  the  tapestries,  dis 
closing  a  passage  which  encircled  the  room, 

[252] 


/  FIND  DEJAH 


between  the  hangings  and  the  walls  of  the  cham 
ber.  Within  this  passage  I  was  to  remain,  he 
said,  so  long  as  Than  Kosis  was  in  the  apartment. 
When  he  left  I  was  to  follow.  My  only  duty 
was  to  guard  the  ruler  and  keep  out  of  sight  as 
much  as  possible.  I  would  be  relieved  after  a 
period  of  four  hours.  The  major-domo  then 
left  me. 

The  tapestries  were  of  a  strange  weaving  which 
gave  the  appearance  of  heavy  solidity  from  one 
side,  but  from  my  hiding  place  I  could  perceive 
all  that  took  place  within  the  room  as  readily  as 
though  there  had  been  no  curtain  intervening. 

Scarcely  had  I  gained  my  post  than  the  tapestry 
at  the  opposite  end  of  the  chamber  separated  and 
four  soldiers  of  The  Guard  entered,  surrounding 
a  female  figure.  As  they  approached  Than  Kosis 
the  soldiers  fell  to  either  side  and  there  standing 
before  the  jeddak  and  not  ten  feet  from  me,  her 
beautiful  face  radiant  with  smiles,  was  Dejah 
Thoris . 

Sab  Than,  Prince  of  Zodanga,  advanced  to  meet 
her,  and  hand  in  hand  they  approached  close  to 
the  jeddak.  Than  Kosis  looked  up  in  surprise, 
and,  rising,  saluted  her. 

"To  what  strange  freak  do  I  owe  this  visit 
[253] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


from  the  Princess  of  Helium,  who,  two  days  ago, 
with  rare  consideration  for  my  pride,  assured  me 
that  she  would  prefer  Tal  Hajus,  the  green  Thark, 
to  my  son  ?  " 

Dejah  Thoris  only  smiled  the  more  and  with 
the  roguish  dimples  playing  at  the  corners  of  her 
mouth  she  made  answer : 

"  From  the  beginning  of  time  upon  Barsoom  it 
has  been  the  prerogative  of  woman  to  change  her 
mind  as  she  listed  and  to  dissemble  in  matters  con 
cerning  her  heart.  That  you  will  forgive,  Than 
Kosis,  as  has  your  son.  Two  days  ago  I  was  not 
sure  of  his  love  for  me,  but  now  I  am,  and  I  have 
come  to  beg  of  you  to  forget  my  rash  words  and 
to  accept  the  assurance  of  the  Princess  of  Helium 
that  when  the  time  comes  she  will  wed  Sab  Than, 
Prince  of  Zodanga." 

"  I  am  glad  that  you  have  so  decided,"  replied 
Than  Kosis.  "It  is  far  from  my  desire  to  push 
war  further  against  the  people  of  Helium,  and, 
iyour  promise  shall  be  recorded  and  a  proclamation 
to  my  people  issued  forthwith." 

"  It  were  better,  Than  Kosis,"  interrupted 
Dejah  Thoris,  "that  the  proclamation  wait  the 
ending  of  this  war.  It  would  look  strange  indeed 
to  my  people  and  to  yours  were  the  Princess  of 

[254] 


/  FIND  DEJAH 


Helium  to  give  herself  to  her  country's  enemy  in 
the  midst  of  hostilities." 

"Cannot  the  war  be  ended  at  once?"  spoke 
Sab  Than.  "It  requires  but  the  word  of  Than 
Kosis  to  bring  peace.  Say  it  my  father,  say  the 
word  that  will  hasten  my  happiness,  and  end  this 
unpopular  strife." 

"We  shall  see,"  replied  Than  Kosis,  "how  the 
people  of  Helium  take  to  peace.  I  shall  at  least 
offer  it  to  them." 

Dejah  Thoris,  after  a  few  words,  turned  and 
left  the  apartment,  still  followed  by  her  guards. 

Thus  was  the  edifice  of  my  brief  dream  of 
happiness  dashed,  broken,  to  the  ground  of  reality. 
The  woman  for  whom  I  had  offered  my  life,  and 
from  whose  lips  I  haH  so  recently  heard  a  declara 
tion  of  love  for  me,  had  lightly  forgotten  my  very 
existence  and  smilingly  given  herself  to  the  son  of 
her  people's  most  hated  enemy. 

Although  I  had  heard  it  with  my  own  ears  I 
could  not  believe  it.  I  must  search  out  her  apart 
ments  and  force  her  to  repeat  the  cruel  truth  to 
me  alone  before  I  would  be  convinced,  and  so  I 
deserted  my  post  and  hastened  through  the  pas 
sage  behind  the  tapestries  toward  the  door  by 
which  she  had  left  the  chamber.  Slipping  quietly 

[255] 


'A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


through  this  opening  I  discovered  a  maze  of  wind 
ing  corridors,  branching  and  turning  in  every 
direction. 

Running  rapidly  down  first  one  and  then  another 
of  them  I  soon  became  hopelessly  lost  and  was 
standing  panting  against  a  side  wall  when  I  heard 
voices  near  me.  Apparently  they  were  coming 
from  the  opposite  side  of  the  partition  against 
which  I  leaned  and  presently  I  made  out  the  tones 
of  Dejah  Thoris.  I  could  not  hear  the  words  but 
I  knew  that  I  could  not  possibly  be  mistaken  in 
the  voice. 

Moving  on  a  few  steps  I  discovered  another 
passage-way  at  the  end  of  which  lay  a  door. 
Walking  boldly  forward  I  pushed  into  the  room 
only  to  find  myself  in  a  small  ante  chamber  in 
which  were  the  four  guards  who  had  accompanied 
her.  One  of  them  instantly  arose  and  accosted 
me,  asking  the  nature  of  my  business. 

"  I  am  from  Than  Kosis,"  I  replied,  "  and  wish 
to  speak  privately  with  Dejah  Thoris,  Princess  of 
Helium." 

"And  your  order?"  asked  the  fellow. 

I  did  not  know  what  he  meant,  but  replied  that 
I  was  a  member  of  The  Guard,  and  without  wait 
ing  for  a  reply  from  him  I  strode  toward  the 

[256] 


I  FIND  DEJAH 


opposite  door  of  the  ante  chamber,  behind  which 
I  could  hear  Dejah  Thoris  conversing. 

But  my  entrance  was  not  to  be  so  easily  accom 
plished.  The  guardsman  stepped  before  me, 
saying, 

"  No  one  comes  from  Than  Kosis  without  carry 
ing  an  order  or  the  pass  word.  You  must  give 
me  one  or  the  other  before  you  may  pass." 

"The  only  order  I  require,  my  friend,  to  enter 
where  I  will,  hangs  at  my  side,"  I  answered,  tap 
ping  my  long-sword ;  "  will  you  let  me  pass  in  peace 
or  no?" 

For  reply  he  whipped  out  his  own  sword,  call 
ing  to  the  others  to  join  him,  and  thus  the  four 
stood,  with  drawn  weapons,  barring  my  further 
progress. 

"  You  are  not  here  by  the  order  of  Than  Kosis," 
cried  the  one  who  had  first  addressed  me,  "  and 
not  only  s'hall  you  not  enter  the  apartments  of  the 
Princess  of  Helium  but  you  shall  go  back  to  Than 
Kosis  under  guard  to  explain  this  unwarranted 
temerity.  Throw  down  your  sword;  you  cannot 
hope  to  overcome  four  of  us,"  he  added  with  a 
grim  smile. 

My  reply  was  a  quick  thrust  which  left  me  but 
three  antagonists  and  I  can  assure  you  that  they 
[257] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


were  worthy  of  my  metal.  They  had  me  backed 
against  the  wall  in  no  time,  fighting  for  my  life. 
Slowly  I  worked  my  way  to  a  corner  of  the  room 
where  I  could  force  them  to  come  at  me  only  one 
(at  a  time,  and  thus  we  fought  upward  of  twenty 
minutes;  the  clanging  of  steel  on  steel  producing 
a  veritable  bedlam  in  the  little  room. 

The  noise  had  brought  Dejah  Thoris  to  the 
door  of  her  apartment,  and  there  she  stood 
throughout  the  conflict  with  Sola  at  her  back  peer 
ing  over  her  shoulder.  Her  face  was  set  and 
emotionless  and  I  knew  that  she  did  not  recognize 
me,  nor  did  Sola. 

Finally  a  lucky  cut  brought  down  a  second 
guardsman  and  then,  with  only  two  opposing  me, 
I  changed  my  tactics  and  rushed  them  down  after 
the  fashion  of  my  fighting  that  had  won  me  many 
a  victory.  The  third  fell  within  ten  seconds  after 
the  second,  and  the  last  lay  dead  upon  the  bloody 
floor  a  few  moments  later.  They  were  brave  men 
and  noble  fighters,  and  it  grieved  me  that  I  had 
been  forced  to  kill  them,  but  I  would  have  will 
ingly  depopulated  all  Barsoom  could  I  have 
reached  the  side  of  my  Dejah  Thoris  in  no  other 
way. 

Sheathing  my  bloody  blade  I  advanced  toward 

[258] 


/  FIND  DEJAH 


my  Martian  Princess,  who  still  stood  mutely 
gazing  at  me  without  sign  of  recognition. 

"Who  are  you,  Zodangan?"  she  whispered. 
"Another  enemy  to  harass  me  in  my  misery?" 

"  I  am  a  friend,"  I  answered,  "  a  once  cherished 
friend." 

"No  friend  of  Helium's  princess  wears  that 
metal,"  she  replied,  "  and  yet  the  voice !  I  have 
heard  it  before;  it  is  not  —  it  cannot  be  —  no, 
for  he  is  dead." 

"It  is,  though,  my  Princess,  none  other  than 
John  Carter,"  I  said.  "Do  you  not  recognize, 
even  through  paint  and  strange  metal,  the  heart 
of  your  chieftain?" 

As  I  came  close  to  her  she  swayed  toward  me 
with  outstretched  hands,  but  as  I  reached  to  take 
her  in  my  arms  she  drew  back  with  a  shudder  and 
a  little  moan  of  misery. 

"Too  late,  too  late,"  she  grieved.  "O  my 
chieftain  that  was,  and  whom  I  thought  dead,  had 
you  but  returned  one  little  hour  before — but  now 
it  is  too  late,  too  late." 

s  "What  do  you  mean,  Dejah  Thoris?"  I  cried. 
"That  you  would  not  have  promised  yourself  to 
tfce  Zodangan  prince  had  you  known  that  I 
lived?" 

[259] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


"Think  you,  John  Carter,  that  I  would  give  my 
heart  to  you  yesterday  and  today  to  another?  I 
thought  that  it  lay  buried  with  your  ashes  in  the 
pits  of  Warhoon,  and  so  today  I  have  promised 
my  body  to  another  to  save  my  people  from  the 
curse  of  a  victorious  Zodangan  army." 

"  But  I  am  not  dead,  my  princess.  I  have  come 
to  claim  you,  and  all  Zodanga  cannot  prevent  it." 

"  It  is  too  late,  John  Carter,  my  promise  is 
given,  and  on  Barsoom  that  is  final.  The  cere 
monies  which  follow  later  are  but  meaningless 
formalities.  They  make  the  fact  of  marriage  no 
more  certain  than  does  the  funeral  cortege  of  a 
jeddak  again  place  the  seal  of  death  upon  him. 
I  am  as  good  as  married,  John  Carter.  No  longer 
may  you  call  me  your  princess.  No  longer  are  you 
my  chieftain." 

"  I  know  but  little  of  your  customs  here  upon 
Barsoom,  Dejah  Thoris,  but  I  do  know  that  I 
love  you,  and  if  you  meant  the  last  words  you 
spoke  to  me  that  day  as  the  hordes  of  Warhooi\ 
were  charging  down  upon  us,  no  other  man  shall 
ever  claim  you  as  his  bride.  You  meant  them  then, 
my  princess,  and  you  mean  them  still!  Say  that 
it  is  true." 

"I  meant  them,  John  Carter,"  she  whispered 
[260] 


/  FIND  DEJAH 


"I  cannot  repeat  them  now  for  I  have  given 
myself  to  another.  Ah,  if  you  had  only  known 
our  ways,  my  friend,"  she  continued,  half  to  her- 
self,  "the  promise  would  have  been  yours  long 
months  ago,  and  you  could  have  claimed  me  before 
all  others.  It  might  have  meant  the  fall  of 
Helium,  but  I  would  have  given  my  empire  for 
my  Tharkian  chief." 

Then  aloud  she  said:  "Do  you  remember  the 
night  when  you  offended  me  ?  You  called  me  your 
princess  without  having  asked  my  hand  of  me, 
and  then  you  boasted  that  you  had  fought  for  me. 
You  did  not  know,  and  I  should  not  have  been 
offended;  I  see  that  now.  But  there  was  no  one 
to  tell  you,  what  I  could  not,  that  upon  Barsoom 
there  are  two  kinds  of  women  in  the  cities  of  the 
red  men.  The  one  they  fight  for  that  they  may 
ask  them  in  marriage;  the  other  kind  they  fight 
for  also,  but  never  ask  their  hands.  When  a  man 
has  won  a  woman  he  may  address  her  as  his  prin 
cess,  or  in  any  of  the  several  terms  which  signify 
possession.  You  had  fought  for  me,  but  had 
never  asked  me  in  marriage,  and  so  when  you 
called  me  your  princess,  you  see,"  she  faltered,  "  I 
was  hurt,  but  even  then,  John  Carter,  I  did  not 
repulse  you,  as  I  should  have  done,  until  you  made 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


it  doably  worse  by  taunting  me  with  having  won 
me  through  combat." 

"  I  do  not  need  ask  your  forgiveness  now,  Dejah 
Thoris,"  I  cried.  "  You  must  know  that  my  fault 
was  of  ignorance  of  your  Barsoomian  customs. 
What  I  failed  to  do,  through  implicit  belief  that 
my  petition  would  be  presumptious  and  unwel 
come,  I  do  now,  Dejah  Thoris;  I  ask  you  to  be 
my  wife,  and  by  all  the  Virginian  fighting  blood 
that  flows  in  my  veins  you  shall  be." 

"No,  John  Carter,  it  is  useless,"  she  cried, 
hopelessly,  "  I  may  never  be  yours  while  Sab  Than 
lives." 

"You  have  sealed  his  death  warrant,  my  prin 
cess —  Sab  Than  dies." 

"  Nor  that  either,"  she  hastened  to  explain.  "  I 
may  not  wed  the  man  who  slays  my  husband,  even 
in  self-defense.  It  is  custom.  We  are  ruled  by 
custom  upon  Barsoom.  It  is  useless,  my  friend. 
You  must  bear  the  sorrow  with  me.  That  at  least 
we  may  share  in  common.  That,  and  the  mem- 
'ory  of  the  brief  days  among  the  Tharks.  You 
must  go  now,  nor  ever  see  me  again.  Good-bye, 
my  chieftain  that  was." 

Disheartened  and  dejected,  I  withdrew  from  the 
room,  but  I  was  not  entirely  discouraged,  nor 
[262] 


I  FIND  DEJAH 


would  I  admit  that  Dejah  Thoris  was  lost  to  me 
until  the  ceremony  had  actually  been  performed. 

As  I  wandered  along  the  corridors,  I  was  as 
absolutely  lost  in  the  mazes  of  winding  passage 
ways  as  I  had  been  before  I  discovered  Dejah 
Thoris'  apartments. 

I  knew  that  my  only  hope  lay  in  escape  from 
the  city  of  Zodanga,  for  the  matter  of  the  four 
dead  guardsmen  would  have  to  be  explained,  and 
as  I  could  never  reach  my  original  post  without 
a  guide,  suspicion  would  surely  rest  on  me  so  soon 
as  I  was  discovered  wandering  aimlessly  through 
the  palace. 

Presently  I  came  upon  a  spiral  runway  leading 
to  a  lower  floor,  and  this  I  followed  downward 
for  several  stories  until  I  reached  the  doorway 
of  a  large  apartment  in  which  were  a  number  of 
guardsmen.  The  walls  of  this  room  were  hung 
with  transparent  tapestries  behind  which  I 
secreted  myself  without  being  apprehended. 

The  conversation  of  the  guardsmen  was  general, 
and  awakened  no  interest  in  me  until  an  officer 
entered  the  room  and  ordered  four  of  the  men  to 
relieve  the  detail  who  were  guarding  the  Princess 
of  Helium.  Now,  I  knew,  my  troubles  would 
commence  in  earnest  and  indeed  they  were  upon 
[263] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


me  all  too  soon,  for  it  seemed  that  the  squad 
had  scarcely  left  the  guardroom  before  one  of 
their  number  burst  in  again  breathlessly,  crying 
that  they  had  found  their  four  comrades  butchered 
in  the  ante-chamber. 

In  a  moment  the  entire  palace  was  alive  with 
people.  Guardsmen,  officers,  courtiers,  servants, 
and  slaves  ran  helter  skelter  through  the  corridors 
and  apartments  carrying  messages  and  orders,  and 
searching  for  signs  of  the  assassin. 

This  was  my  opportunity  and  slim  as  it  appeared 
I  grasped  it,  for  as  a  number  of  soldiers  came 
hurrying  past  my  hiding  place  I  fell  in  behind  them 
and  followed  through  the  mazes  of  the  palace 
until,  in  passing  through  a  great  hall,  I  saw  the 
blessed  light  of  day  coming  in  through  a  series  qf 
larger  windows. 

Here  I  left  my  guides,  and,  slipping  to  the  near 
est  window,  sought  for  an  avenue  of  escape.  The 
windows  opened  upon  a  great  balcony  which  over 
looked  one  of  the  broad  avenues  of  Zodanga. 
The  ground  was  about  thirty  feet  below,  and  at  a 
like  distance  from  the  building  was  a  wall  fully 
twenty  feet  high,  constructed  of  polished  glass 
about  a  foot  in  thickness.  To  a  red  Martian 
escape  by  this  path  would  have  appeared  impos- 

[264] 


/  FIND  DEJAH 


sible,  but  to  me,  with  my  earthly  strength  and 
agility,  it  seemed  already  accomplished.  My  only 
fear  was  in  being  detected  before  darkness  fell, 
for  I  could  not  make  the  leap  in  broad  daylight 
while  the  court  below  and  the  avenue  beyond  were 
crowded  with  Zodangans. 

Accordingly  I  searched  for  a  hiding  place  and 
finally  found  one  by  accident,  inside  a  huge  hang 
ing  ornament  which  swung  from  the  ceiling  of  the 
hall,  and  about  ten  feet  from  the  floor.  Into  the 
capacious  bowl-like  vase  I  sprang  with  ease,  and 
scarcely  had  I  settled  down  within  it  than  I  heard 
a  number  of  people  enter  the  apartment.  The 
group  stopped  beneath  my  hiding  place  and  I 
could  plainly  overhear  their  every  word. 

"  It  is  the  work  of  Heliumites,"  said  one  of  the 
men. 

"Yes,  O  Jeddak,  but  how  had  they  access  to 
the  palace?  I  could  believe  that  even  with  the  dil 
igent  care  of  your  guardsmen  a  single  enemy  might 
reach  the  inner  chambers,  but  how  a  force  of  six 
or  eight  fighting  men  could  have  done  so  unob 
served  is  beyond  me.  We  shall  soon  know,  how 
ever,  for  here  comes  the  royal  psychologist." 

Another  man  now  joined  the  group,  and,  after 
making  his  formal  greetings  to  his  ruler,  said: 

[2653 


"O  mighty  Jeddak,  it  is  a  strange  tale  I  read 
in  the  dead  minds  of  your  faithful  guardsmen. 
They  were  felled  not  by  a  number  of  fighting  men, 
but  by  a  single  opponent." 

He  paused  to  let  the  full  weight  of  this  announce 
ment  impress  his  hearers,  and  that  his  statement 
was  scarcely  credited  was  evidenced  by  the  impa 
tient  exclamation  of  incredulity  which  escaped  the 
lips  of  Than  Kosis. 

"  What  manner  of  weird  tale  are  you  bringing 
me,  Notan?"  he  cried. 

"  It  is  the  truth,  my  Jeddak,"  replied  the  psy 
chologist.  "  In  fact  the  impressions  were  strongly 
marked  on  the  brain  of  each  of  the  four  guards 
men.  Their  antagonist  was  a  very  tall  man,  wear 
ing  the  metal  of  one  of  your  own  guardsmen,  and 
his  fighting  ability  was  little  short  of  marvelous 
for  he  fought  fair  against  the  entire  four  and  van 
quished  them  by  his  surpassing  skill  and  super 
human  strength  and  endurance.  Though  he  wore 
the  metal  of  Zodanga,  my  Jeddak,  such  a  man 
was  never  seen  before  in  this  or  any  other  country 
upon  Barsoom. 

"The  mind  of  the  Princess  of  Helium  whom 
I  have  examined  and  questioned  was  a  blank  to 
me,  she  has  perfect  control,  and  I  could  not  read 
[266] 


I  FIND  DEJAH 


one  iota  of  it.  She  said  that  she  witnessed  a  por 
tion  of  the  encounter,  and  that  when  she  looked 
there  was  but  one  man  engaged  with  the  guards 
men;  a  man  whom  she  did  not  recognize  as  ever 
having  seen." 

"Where  is  my  erstwhile  savior?"  spoke 
another  of  the  party,  and  I  recognized  the  voice 
of  the  cousin  of  Than  Kosis,  whom  I  had  rescued 
from  the  green  warriors.  "By  the  metal  of  my 
first  ancestor,"  he  went  on,  "but  the  description 
fits  him  to  perfection,  especially  as  to  his  fighting 
ability." 

"Where  is  this  man?"  cried  Than  Kosis. 
"  Have  him  brought  to  me  at  once.  What  know 
you  of  him,  cousin?  It  seemed  strange  to  me  now 
that  I  think  upon  it  that  there  should  have  been 
such  a  fighting  man  in  Zodanga,  of  whose  name, 
even,  we  were  ignorant  before  today.  And  his 
name  too,  John  Carter,  who  ever  heard  of  such 
a  name  upon  Barsoom !  " 

Word  was  soon  brought  that  I  was  nowhere 
to  be  found,  either  in  the  palace  or  at  my  former 
quarters  in  the  barracks  of  the  air-scout  squadron. 
iKantos  Kan,  they  had  found  and  questioned,  but 
he  knew  nothing  of  my  whereabouts,  and  as  to  my 
past,  he  had  told  them  he  knew  as  little,  since  he 

[267] 


had  but  recently  met  me  during  our  captivity  among 
the  Warhoons. 

"  Keep  your  eyes  on  this  other  one,"  commanded 
Than  Kosis.  "He  also  is  a  stranger  and  likely 
as  not  they  both  hail  from  Helium,  and  where 
one  is  we  shall  sooner  or  later  find  the  other. 
Quadruple  the  air  patrol,  and  let  every  man  who 
leaves  the  city  by  air  or  ground  be  subjected  to 
the  closest  scrutiny." 

Another  messenger  now  entered  with  word  that 
I  was  still  within  the  palace  walls. 

"  The  likeness  of  every  person  who  has  entered 
or  left  the  palace  grounds  today  has  been  care 
fully  examined,"  concluded  the  fellow,  "  and  not 
one  approaches  the  likeness  of  this  new  padwar 
of  the  guards,  other  than  that  which  was  recorded 
of  him  at  the  time  he  entered." 

"Then  we  will  have  him  shortly,"  commented 
Than  Kosis  contentedly,  "and  in  the  meanwhile 
we  will  repair  to  the  apartments  of  the  Princess 
of  Helium  and  question  her  in  regard  to  the  affair. 
She  may  know  more  than  she  cared  to  divulge 
to  you,  Notan.  Come." 

They  left  the  hall,  and,  as  darkness  had  fallen 
without,  I  slipped  lightly  from  my  hiding  place 
and  hastened  to  the  balcony.  Few  were  in  sight, 
[268] 


I  FIND  DEJAH 


and  choosing  a  moment  when  none  seemed  near 
I  sprang  quickly  to  the  top  of  the  glass  wall  and 
from  there  to  the  avenue  beyond  the  palace 
grounds. 


1 269  T 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

LOST  IN  THE  SKY 

WITHOUT  effort  at  concealment  I  hastened 
to  the  vicinity  of  our  quarters,  where  I 
felt  sure  I  should  find  Kantos  Kan.  As  I  neared 
the  building  I  became  more  careful,  as  I  judged, 
and  rightly,  that  the  place  would  be  guarded.  Sev 
eral  men  in  civilian  metal  loitered  near  the  front 
entrance  and  in  the  rear  were  others.  My  only 
means  of  reaching,  unseen,  the  upper  story  where 
our  apartments  were  situated  was  through  an 
adjoining  building,  and  after  considerable  maneu 
vering  I  managed  to  attain  the  roof  of  a  shop  sev 
eral  doors  away. 

Leaping  from  roof  to  roof,  I  soon  reached  an 
open  windpw  in  the  building  where  I  hoped  to  find 
the  Heliumite,  and  in  another  moment  I  stood  in 
the  room  before  him.  He  was  alone  and  showed 
no  surprise  at  my  coming,  saying  he  had  expected 
me  much  earlier,  as  my  tour  of  duty  must  have 
ended  some  time  since. 

I  saw  that  he  knew  nothing  of  the  events  of 
[270] 


LOST  IN  THE  SKY 


the  day  at  the  palace,  and  when  I  had  enlightened 
him  he  was  all  excitement.  The  news  that  Dejah 
Thoris  had  promised  her  hand  to  Sab  Than  filled 
him  with  dismay. 

"It  cannot  be,"  he  exclaimed.  "It  is  impos 
sible  I  Why  no  man  in  all  Helium  but  would  pre 
fer  death  to  the  selling  of  our  loved  princess  to 
the  ruling  house  of  Zodanga.  She  must  have  lost 
her  mind  to  have  assented  to  such  an  atrocious 
bargain.  .You,  who  do  not  know  how  we  of 
Helium  love  the  members  of  our  ruling  house, 
cannot  appreciate  the  horror  with  which  I  contem 
plate  such  an  unholy  alliance." 

"What  can  be  done,  John  Carter?"  he  con 
tinued.  "You  are  a  resourceful  man.  Can  you 
not  think  of  some  way  to  save  Helium  from  this 
disgrace?" 

"If  I  can  come  within  sword's  reach  of  Sab 

[Than,"  I  answered,  "  I  can  solve  the  difficulty  in 

so  far  as  Helium  is  concerned,  but  for  personal 

reasons  I  would  prefer  that  another  struck  the 

blow  that  frees  Dejah  Thoris." 

Kantos  Kan  eyed  me  narrowly  before  he  spoke. 

"  You  love  her !  "  he  said.    "  Does  she  know  it  ?  " 

"She  knows  it,  Kantos  Kan,  and  repulses  me 
only  because  she  is  promised  to  Sab  Than." 
[271] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


The  splendid  fellow  sprang  to  his  feet,  and 
grasping  me  by  the  shoulder  raised  his  sword  on 
high,  exclaiming: 

"And  had  the  choice  been  left  to  me  I  could 
not  have  chosen  a  more  fitting  mate  for  the  first 
princess  of  Barsoom.  Here  is  my  hand  upon 
your  shoulder,  John  Carter,  and  my  word  that 
Sab  Than  shall  go  out  at  the  point  of  my  sword 
for  the  sake  of  my  love  for  Helium,  for  Dejah 
Thoris,  and  for  you.  This  very  night  I  shall  try 
to  reach  his  quarters  in  the  palace." 

"How?"  I  asked.  "You  are  strongly  guarded 
and  a  quadruple  force  patrols  the  sky." 

He  bent  his  head  in  thought  a  moment,  then 
raised  it  with  an  air  of  confidence. 

"I  only  need  to  pass  these  guards  and  I  can 
do  it,"  he  said  at  last.  "  I  know  a  secret  entrance 
to  the  palace  through  the  pinnacle  of  the  highest 
tower.  I  fell  upon  it  by  chance  one  day  as  I  wasi 
passing  above  the  palace  on  patrol  duty.  In  this 
,,vork  it  is  required  that  we  investigate  any  unusual 
occurrence  we  may  witness,  and  a  face  peering 
from  the  pinnacle  of  the  high  tower  of  the  palace 
was,  to  me,  most  unusual.  I  therefore  drew  near 
and  discovered  that  the  possessor  of  the  peering 
face  was  none  other  than  Sab  Than.  He  was 
[272] 


LOST  IN  THE  SKY 


slightly  put  out  at  being  detected  and  commanded 
me  to  keep  the  matter  to  myself,  explaining  that 
the  passage  from  the  tower  led  directly  to  his 
apartments,  and  was  known  only  to  him.  If  I 
can  reach  the  roof  of  the  barracks  and  get  my 
machine  I  can  be  in  Sab  Than's  quarters  in  five 
minutes;  but  how  am  I  to  escape  from  this  build 
ing,  guarded  as  you  say  it  is?" 

"  How  well  are  the  machine  sheds  at  the  bar 
racks  guarded?"  I  asked. 

"There  is  usually  but  one  man  on  duty  there  at 
night  upon  the  roof." 

"  Go  to  the  roof  of  this  building,  Kantos  Kan, 
and  wait  me  there." 

Without  stopping  to  explain  my  plans  I  retraced 
my  way  to  the  street  and  hastened  to  the  barracks. 
I  did  not  dare  to  enter  the  building,  filled  as  it 
was  with  members  of  the  air-scout  squadron,  who, 
in  common  with  all  Zodanga,  were  on  the  lookout 
for  me. 

The  building  was  an  enormous  one,  rearing  its 
lofty  head  fully  a  thousand  feet  into  the  air.  But 
few  buildings  in  Zodanga  were  higher  than  these 
barracks,  though  several  topped  it  by  a  few  hun 
dred  feet ;  the  docks  of  the  great  battleships  of  the 
line  standing  some  fifteen  hundred  feet  from  the 

[273] 


ground,  while  the  freight  and  passenger  stations 
of  the  merchant  squadrons  rose  nearly  as  high. 

It  was  a  long  climb  up  the  face  of  the  building, 
and  one  fraught  with  much  danger,  but  there  was 
no  other  way,  and  so  I  essayed  the  task.  The 
fact  that  Barsoomian  architecture  is  extremely 
ornate  made  the  feat  much  simpler  than  I  had 
anticipated,  since  I  found  ornamental  ledges  and 
projections  which  fairly  formed  a  perfect  ladder 
for  me  all  the  way  to  the  eaves  of  the  building. 
Here  I  met  my  first  real  obstacle.  The  eaves 
projected  nearly  twenty  feet  from  the  wall  to  which 
I  clung,  and  though  I  encircled  the  great  building 
I  could  find  no  opening  through  them. 

The  top  floor  was  alight,  and  filled  with  soldiers 
engaged  in  the  pastimes  of  their  kind;  I  could  not, 
therefore,  reach  the  roof  through  the  building. 

There  was  one  slight,  desperate  chance,  and 
that  I  decided  I  must  take — it  was  for  Dejah 
Thoris,  and  no  man  has  lived  who  would  not  risk 
a  thousand  deaths  for  such  as  she. 

Clinging  to  the  wall  with  my  feet  and  one  hand, 
I  unloosened  one  of  the  long  leather  straps  of  my 
trappings  at  the  end  of  which  dangled  a  great 
hook  by  which  air  sailors  are  hung  to  the  sides  and 
bottoms  of  their  craft  for  various  purposes  of 
[274] 


LOST  IN  THE  SKY 


repair,  and  by  means  of  which  landing  parties  are 
lowered  to  the  ground  from  the  battleships. 

I  swung  this  hook  cautiously  to  the  roof  several 
times  before  it  finally  found  lodgment;  gently  I 
pulled  on  it  to  strengthen  its  hold,  but  whether  it 
would  bear  the  weight  of  my  body  I  did  not  know. 
it  might  be  barely  caught  upon  the  very  outer 
verge  of  the  roof,  so  that  as  my  body  swung  out 
at  the  end  of  the  strap  it  would  slip  off  and  launch 
me  to  the  pavement  a  thousand  feet  below. 

An  instant  I  hesitated,  and  then,  releasing  my 
grasp  upon  the  supporting  ornament,  I  swung  out 
into  space  at  the  end  of  the  strap.  Far  below  me 
lay  the  brilliantly  lighted  streets,  the  hard  pave 
ments,  and  death.  There  was  a  little  jerk  at  the 
top  of  the  supporting  eaves,  and  a  nasty  slipping, 
grating  sound  which  turned  me  cold  with  appre 
hension;  then  the  hook  caught  and  I  was  safe. 

Clambering  quickly  aloft  I  grasped  the  edge  of 
the  eaves  and  drew  myself  to  the  surface  .of  the 
roof  above.  As  I  gained  my  feet  I  was  confronted 
by  the  sentry  on  duty,  into  the  muzzle  of  whose 
revolver  I  found  myself  looking. 

"Who  are  you  and  whence  came  you?"  he 
cried. 

"I  am  an  air  scout,  friend,  and  very  near  a 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


dead  one,  for  just  by  the  merest  chance  I  escaped 
falling  to  the  avenue  below,"  I  replied. 

"But  how  came  you  upon  the  roof,  man?  No 
one  has  landed  or  come  up  from  the  building  for 
the  past  hour.  Quick,  explain  yourself,  or  I  call 
the  guard." 

"  Look  you  here,  sentry,  and  you  shall  see  how 
I  came  and  how  close  a  shave  I  had  to  not  coming 
at  all,"  I  answered,  turning  toward  the  edge  of 
the  roof,  where,  twenty  feet  below,  at  the  end  of 
my  strap,  hung  all  my  weapons. 

The  fellow,  acting  on  impulse  of  curiosity, 
stepped  to  my  side  and  to  his  undoing,  for  as  he 
leaned  to  peer  over  the  eaves  I  grasped  him  by  his 
throat  and  his  pistol  arm  and  threw  him  heavily 
to  the  roof.  The  weapon  dropped  from  his  grasp, 
and  my  fingers  choked  off  his  attempted  cry  for 
assistance.  I  gagged  and  bound  him  and  then 
hung  him  over  the  edge  of  the  roof  as  I  myself 
had  hung  a  few  moments  before.  I  knew  it  would 
be  morning  before  he  would  be  discovered,  and  I 
needed  all  the  time  that  I  could  gain. 

Donning  my  trappings  and  weapons  I  hastened 
to  the  sheds,  and  soon  had  out  both  my  machine 
and  Kantos  Kan's.  Making  his  fast  behind  mine 
I  started  my  engine,  and  skimming  over  the  edge 

[276] 


LOST  IN  THE  SKY 


of  the  roof  I  dove  down  into  the  streets  of  the 
city  far  below  the  plane  usually  occupied  by  the 
air  patrol.  In  less  than  a  minute  I  was  settling 
safely  upon  the  roof  of  our  apartment  beside  the 
astonished  Kantos  Kan. 

I  lost  no  time  in  explanations,  but  plunged  imme 
diately  into  a  discussion  of  our  plans  for  the  imme 
diate  future.  It  was  decided  that  I  was  to  try  to 
make  Helium  while  Kantos  Kan  was  to  enter  the 
palace  and  dispatch  Sab  Than.  If  successful  he 
was  then  to  follow  me.  He  set  my  compass  for 
me,  a  clever  little  device  which  will  remain  stead 
fastly  fixed  upon  any  given  point  on  the  surface 
of  Barsoom,  and  bidding  each  other  farewell  we 
rose  together  and  sped  in  the  direction  of  the  pal 
ace  which  lay  in  the  route  which  I  must  take  to 
reach  Helium. 

As  we  neared  the  high  tower  a  patrol  shot  down 
from  above,  throwing  its  piercing  searchlight  full 
upon  my  craft,  and  a  voice  roared  out  a  command 
to  halt,  following  with  a  shot  as  I  paid  no  atten 
tion  to  his  hail.  Kantos  Kan  dropped  quickly  into 
the  darkness,  while  I  rose  steadily  and  at  terrific 
speed  raced  through  the  Martian  sky  followed 
by  a  dozen  of  the  air-scout  craft  which  had  joined 
the  pursuit,  and  later  by  a  swift  cruiser  carrying  a 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


hundred  men  and  a  battery  of  rapid-fire  guns.  By 
twisting  and  turning  my  little  machine,  now  rising 
and  now  falling,  I  managed  to  elude  their  search 
lights  most  of  the  time,  but  I  was  also  losing 
ground  by  these  tactics,  and  so  I  decided  to  hazard 
everything  on  a  straight-away  course  and  leave  the 
result  to  fate  and  the  speed  of  my  machine. 

Kantos  Kan  had  shown  me  a  trick  of  gearing, 
which  is  known  only  to  the  navy  of  Helium,  that 
greatly  increased  the  speed  of  our  machines,  so 
that  I  felt  sure  I  could  distance  my  pursuers  if  I 
could  dodge  their  projectiles  for  a  few  moments. 

As  I  sped  through  the  air  the  screeching  of  the 
bullets  around  me  convinced  me  that  only  by  a 
miracle  could  I  escape,  but  the  die  was  cast,  and 
throwing  on  full  speed  I  raced  a  straight  course 
toward  Helium.  Gradually  I  left  my  pursuers 
further  and  further  behind,  and  I  was  just  con 
gratulating  myself  on  my  lucky  escape,  when  a 
well-directed  shot  from  the  cruiser  exploded  at 
the  prow  of  my  little  craft.  The  concussion  nearly 
capsized  her,  and  with  a  sickening  plunge  she 
hurtled  downward  through"  the  dark  night. 

How  far  I  fell  before  I  regained  control  of 
the  plane  I  do  not  know,  but  I  must  have  been 
very  close  to  the  ground  when  I  started  to  rise 
[278J 


LOST  IN  THE  SKY 


again,  as  I  plainly  heard  the  squealing  of  animals 
below  me.  Rising  again  I  scanned  the  heavens 
for  my  pursuers,  and  finally  making  out  their 
lights  far  behind  me,  saw  that  they  were  land 
ing,  evidently  in  search  of  me. 

Not  until  their  lights  were  no  longer  discern 
ible  did  I  venture  to  flach  my  little  lamp  upon  my 
compass,  and  then  I  found  to  my  consternation 
that  a  fragment  of  the  projectile  had  utterly 
destroyed  my  only  guide,  as  well  as  my  speed 
ometer.  It  was  true  I  could  follow  the  stars  in 
the  general  direction  of  Helium,  but  without  know 
ing  the  exact  location  of  the  city  or  the  speed  at 
which  I  was  traveling  my  chances  for  finding  it 
were  slim. 

Helium  lies  a  thousand  miles  southwest  of 
Zodanga,  and  with  my  compass  intact  I  should 
have  made  the  trip,  barring  accidents,  in  between 
four  and  five  hours.  As  it  turned  out,  however, 
morning  found  me  speeding  over  a  vast  expanse 
of  dead  sea  bottom  after  nearly  six  hours  of  con 
tinuous  flight  at  high  speed.  Presently  a  great 
city  showed  below  me,  but  it  was  not  Helium,  as 
that  alone  of  all  Barsoomian  metropolises  consists 
in  two  immense  circular  walled  cities  about  seventy- 
five  miles  apart  and  would  have  been  easily  dis- 
[279] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


tinguishable  from  the  altitude  at  which  I  was  flying. 
Believing  that  I  had  come  too  far  to  the  north 
and  west,  I  turned  back  in  a  southeasterly  direc 
tion,  passing  during  the  forenoon  several  other 
large  cities,  but  none  resembling  the  description 
which  Kantos  Kan  had  given  me  of  Helium.  In 
addition  to  the  twin-city  formation  of  Helium, 
another  distinguishing  feature  is  the  two  immense 
towers,  one  of  vivid  scarlet  rising  nearly  a  mile 
into  the  air  from  the  center  of  one  of  the  cities, 
while  the  other,  of  bright  yellow  a-nd  of  the  same 
height,  marks  her  sister. 


t28oj 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

TARS  TARKAS  FINDS  A  FRIEND 

ABOUT  noon  I  passed  low  over  a  great  dead 
city  of  ancient  Mars,  and  as  I«skimmed  out 
across  the  plain  beyond  I  came  full  upon  several 
thousand  green  warriors  engaged  in  a  terrific  bat 
tle.  Scarcely  had  I  seen  them  than  a  volley  of 
shots  was  directed  at  me,  and  with  the  almost 
unfailing  accuracy  of  their  aim  my  little  craft  was 
instantly  a  ruined  wreck,  sinking  erratically  to  the 
ground. 

I  fell  almost  directly  in  the  center  of  the  fierce 
combat,  among  warriors  who  had  not  seen  my 
approach  so  busily  were  they  engaged  in  life  and 
death  struggles.  The  men  were  fighting  on  foot 
with  long-swords,  while  an  occasional  shot  from 
a  sharpshooter  on  the  outskirts  of  the  conflict 
would  bring  down  a  warrior  who  might  for  an 
instant  separate  himself  from  the  entangled  mass. 

As  my  machine  sank  among  them  I  realized 
that  it  was  fight  or  die,  with  good  chances  of  dying 
in  any  event,  and  so  I  struck  the  ground  with  drawn 
long-sword  ready  to  defend  myself  as  I  could. 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


I  fell  beside  a  huge  monster  who  was  engaged 
with  three  antagonists,  and  as  I  glanced  at  his 
fierce  face,  filled  with  the  light  of  battle,  I  rec 
ognized  Tars  Tarkas  the  Thark.  He  did  not 
see  me,  as  I  was  a  trifle  behind  him,  and  just  then 
the  three  warrriors  opposing  him,  «md  whom  I  rec 
ognized  as  Warhoons,  charged  simultaneously. 
The  mighty  fellow  made  quick  work  of  one  of 
them,  but  in  stepping  back  for  another  thrust  he 
fell  over  a  dead  body  behind  him  and  was  down 
and  at  the  mercy  of  his  foes  in  an  instant.  Quick 
as  lightning  they  were  upon  him,  and  Tars  Tarkas 
would  have  been  gathered  to  his  fathers  in  short 
order  had  I  not  sprung  before  his  prostrate  form 
and  engaged  his  adversaries.  I  had  accounted  for 
one  of  them  when  the  mighty  Thark  regained  hU 
feet  and  quickly  settled  the  other. 

He  gave  me  one  look,  and  a  slight  smile  touched 
his  grim  lips  as,  touching  my  shoulder,  he  said, 

"I  would  scarcely  recognize  you,  John  Carter, 
but  there  is  no  other  mortal  upon  Barsoom  who 
would  have  done  what  you  have  for  me.  I  think 
I  have  learned  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  friend 
ship,  my  friend." 

He  said  no  more,  nor  was  there  opportunity, 
for  the  Warhoons  were  closing  in  about  us,  and 
[282] 


TARS  TARKAS  FINDS  A  FRIEND 

together  we  fought,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  during 
all  that  long,  hot  afternoon,  until  the  tide  of  bat 
tle  turned  and  the  remnant  of  the  fierce  Warhoon 
horde  fell  back  upon  their  thoats,  and  fled  into 
the  gathering  darkness. 

Ten  thousand  men  had  been  engaged  in  that 
titanic  struggle,  and  upon  the  field  of  battle  lay 
three  thousand  dead.  Neither  side  asked  or  gave 
quarter,  nor  did  they  attempt  to  take  prisoners. 

On  our  return  to  the  city  after  the  battle  we 
had  gone  directly  to  Tars  Tarkas'  quarters,  where 
I  was  left  alone  while  the  chieftain  attended  the 
customary  council  which  immediately  follows  an 
engagement. 

As  I  sat  awaiting  the  return  of  the  green  war 
rior  I  heard  something  move  in  an  adjoining  apart 
ment,  and  as  I  glanced  up  there  rushed  suddenly 
upon  me  a  huge  and  hideous  creature  which  bore 
me  backward  upon  the  pile  of  silks  and  furs  upon 
which  I  had  been  reclining.  It  was  Woola  — 
faithful,  loving  Woola.  He  had  found  his  way 
back  to  Thark  and,  as  Tars  Tarkas  later  told  me, 
had  gone  immediately  to  my  former  quarters 
where  he  had  taken  up  his  pathetic  and  seemingly 
hopeless  watch  for  my  return. 

"Tal  Hajus  knows  that  you  are  here,  John 
[283] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


Carter,"  said  Tars  Tarkas,  on  his  return  from  the 
jeddak's  quarters;  "Sarkoja  saw  and  recognized 
you  as  we  were  returning.  Tal  Hajus  has  ordered 
me  to  bring  you  before  him  tonight.  I  have  ten 
thoats,  John  Carter;  you  may  take  your  choice 
from  among  them,  and  I  will  accompany  you  to 
ithe  nearest  waterway  that  leads  to  Helium.  Tars 
fTarkas  may  be  a  cruel  green  warrior,  but  he  can 
,  be  a  friend  as  well.  Come,  we  must  start." 

"  And  when  you  return,  Tars  Tarkas  ?  "  I  asked. 

"The  wild  calots,  possibly,  or  worse,"  he 
replied.  "Unless  I  should  chance  to  have  the 
opportunity  I  have  so  long  waited  of  battling  with 
[Tal  Hajus." 

"We  will  stay,  Tars  Tarkas,  and  see  Tal  Hajus 
(tonight.  You  shall  not  sacrifice  yourself,  and  it 
may  be  that  tonight  you  can  have  the  chance  you 


wait." 


He  objected  strenuously,  saying  that  Tal  Hajus 
often  flew  into  wild  fits  of  passion  at  the  mere 
thought  of  the  blow  I  had  dealt  him,  and  that  if 
ever  he  laid  his  hands  upon  me  I  would  be  sub 
jected  to  the  most  horrible  tortures. 

While  we  were  eating  I  repeated  to  Tars  Tarkas 
the  story  which  Sola  had  told  me  that  night  upon 
the  sea  bottom  during  the  march  to  Thark. 
[284] 


TARS  TARKAS  FINDS  A  FRIEND 

He  said  but  little,  but  the  great  muscles  of  his 
face  worked  in  passion  and  in  agony  at  recollec 
tion  of  the  horrors  which  had  been  heaped  upon 
the  only  thing  he  had  ever  loved  in  all  his  cold, 
cruel,  terrible  existence. 

He  no  longer  demurred  when  I  suggested  that 
we  go  before  Tal  Hajus,  only  saying  that  he  would 
like  to  speak  to  Sarkoja  first.  At  his  request  I 
accompanied  him  to  her  quarters,  and  the  look  of 
venomous  hatred  she  cast  upon  me  was  almost 
adequate  recompense  for  any  future  misfortunes 
this  accidental  return  to  Thark  might  bring  me. 

"  Sarkoja,"  said  Tars  Tarkas,  "  forty  years  ago 
you  were  instrumental  in  bringing  about  the  tor 
ture  and  death  of  a  woman  named  Gozava.  I 
have  just  discovered  that  the  warrior  who  loved 
that  woman  has  learned  of  your  part  in  the  trans 
action.  He  may  not  kill  you,  Sarkoja,  it  is  not 
>ur  custom,  but  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  him 
tying  one  end  of  a  strap  about  your  neck  and  the 
other  end  to  a  wild  thoat,  merely  to  test  your 
fitness  to  survive  and  help  perpetuate  our  race. 
Having  heard  that  he  would  do  this  on  the  mor 
row,  I  thought  it  only  right  to  warn  you,  for  I 
am  a  just  man.  The  river  Iss  is  but  a  short  pil 
grimage,  Sarkoja.  Come,  John  Carter.'* 

[285] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


The  next  morning  Sarkoja  was  gone,  nor  was 
she  ever  seen  after. 

In  silence  we  hastened  to  the  jeddak's  palace, 
where  we  were  immediately  admitted  to  his  pres 
ence;  in  fact,  he  could  scarcely  wait  to  see  me  and 
was  standing  erect  upon  his  platform  glowering 
at  the  entrance  as  I  came  in. 

"Strap  him  to  that  pillar,"  he  shrieked.  "We 
shall  see  who  it  is  dares  strike  the  mighty  Tal 
Hajus.  Heat  the  irons ;  with  my  own  hands  I  shall 
burn  the  eyes  from  his  head  that  he  may  not 
pollute  my  person  with  his  vile  gaze." 

"  Chieftains  of  Thark,"  I  cried,  turning  to  the 
assembled  council  and  ignoring  Tal  Hajus,  "I 
have  been  a  chief  among  you,  and  today  I  have 
fought  for  Thark  shouMer  to  shoulder  with  her 
greatest  warrior.  You  owe  me,  at  least,  a  hear 
ing.  I  have  won  that  much  today.  You  claim 
to  be  just  people  —  " 

"  Silence,"  roared  Tal  Hajus.  "  Gag  the  crea 
ture  and  bind  him  as  I  command." 

"Justice,  Tal  Hajus,"  exclaimed  Lorquas 
Ptomel.  "  Who  are  you  to  set  aside  the  customs 
of  ages  among  the  Tharks." 

"Yes,  justice! "  echoed  a  dozen  voices,  and  so, 
while  Tal  Hajus  fumed  and  frothed,  I  continued. 
[286] 


TARS  TARKAS  FINDS  A  FRIEND 

"  You  are  a  brave  people  and  you  love  bravery, 
but  where  was  your  mighty  jeddak  during  the  fight 
ing  today  ?  I  did  not  see  him  in  the  thick  of  bat 
tle  ;  he  was  not  there.  He  rends  defenseless  women 
and  little  children  in  his  lair,  but  how  recently  has 
one  of  you  seen  him  fight  with  men?  Why,  even 
I,  a  midget  beside  him,  felled  him  with  a  single 
blow  of  my  fist.  Is  it  of  such  that  the  Tharks 
fashion  their  jeddaks?  There  stands  beside  me 
now  a  great  Thark,  a  mighty  warrior  and  a  noble 
man.  Chieftains,  how  sounds,  Tars  Tarkas,  Jed- 
dak  of  Thark?" 

A  roar  of  deep-toned  applause  greeted  this  sug 
gestion. 

"  It  but  remains  for  this  council  to  command, 
and  Tal  Hajus  must  prove  his  fitness  to  rule.  Were 
he  a  brave  man  he  would  invite  Tars  Tarkas  to 
combat,  for  he  does  not  love  him,  but  Tal  Hajus 
is  afraid;  Tal  Hajus,  your  jeddak,  is  a  coward. 
With  my  bare  hands  I  could  kill  him,  and  he 
knows  it." 

After  I  ceased  there  was  tense  silence,  as  all 
eyes  were  riveted  upon  Tal  Hajus.  He  did  not 
speak  or  move,  but  the  blotchy  green  of  his  coun 
tenance  turned  livid,  and  the  froth  froze  upon  his 
lips. 

[287] 


'A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


"Tal  Hajus,"  said  Lorquas  Ptomel  in  a  cold, 
hard  voice,  "nev^  in  my  long  life  have  I  seen  a 
jeddak  of  the  Tharks  so  humiliated.  There  could 
be  but  one  answer  to  this  arraignment.  We  wait 
it."  And  still  Tal  Hajus  stood  as  though  pet 
rified. 

"  Chieftains,"  continued  Lorquas  Ptomel,  "  shall 
the  jeddak,  Tal  Hajus,  prove  his  fitness  to  rule 
over  Tars  Tarkas  ?  " 

There  were  twenty  chieftains  about  the  rostrum, 
and  twenty  swords  flashed  high  in  assent. 

There  was  no  alternative.  That  decree  was 
final,  and  so  Tal  Hajus  drew  his  long-sword  and 
advanced  to  meet  Tars  Tarkas. 

The  combat  was  soon  over,  and,  with  his  foot 
upon  the  neck  of  the  dead  monster,  Tars  Tarkas 
became  jeddak  among  the  Tharks. 

His  first  act  was  to  make  me  a  full-fledged  chief 
tain  with  the  rank  I  had  won  by  my  combats  the 
first  few  weeks  of  my  captivity  among  them. 

Seeing  the  favorable  disposition  of  the  warriors 
toward  Tars  Tarkas,  as  well  as  toward  me,  I 
grasped  the  opportunity  to  enlist  them  in  my  cause 
against  Zodanga.  I  told  Tars  Tarkas  the  story  of 
my  adventures,  and  in  a  few  words  had  explained 
to  him  the  thought  I  had  in  mind. 
[288] 


TARS  TARKAS  FINDS  A  FRIEND 

"John  Carter  has  made  a  proposal,"  he  said, 
addressing  the  council,  "which  meets  with  my 
sanction.  I  shall  put  it  to  you  briefly.  Dejah 
Thoris,  the  Princess  of  Helium,  who  was  our 
prisoner,  is  now  held  by  the  jeddak  of  Zodanga, 
whose  son  she  must  wed  to  save  her  country  from 
devastation  at  the  hands  of  the  Zodangan  forces. 

"John  Carter  suggests  that  we  rescue  her  and 
return  her  to  Helium.  The  loot  of  Zodanga  would 
be  magnificent,  and  I  have  often  thought  that  had 
we  an  alliance  with  the  people  of  Helium  we  could 
obtain  sufficient  assurance  of  sustenance  to  permit 
us  to  increase  the  size  and  frequency  of  our  hatch 
ings,  and  thus  become  unquestionably  supreme 
among  the  green  men  of  all  Barsoom.  What 
say  you?" 

It  was  a  chance  to  fight,  an  opportunity  to  loot, 
and  they  rose  to  the  bait  as  a  speckled  trout  to  a 
fly. 

For  Tharks  they  were  wildly  enthusiastic,  and 
before  another  half  hour  had  passed  twenty 
mounted  messengers  were  speeding  across  dead 
sea  bottoms  to  call  the  hordes  together  for  the 
expedition. 

In  three  days  we  were  on  the  march  toward 
Zodanga,  one  hundred  thousand  strong,  as  Tars 
[289] 


'*  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


to  climb  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  upper  two.  The 
head  of  the  topmost  warrior  towered  over  forty 
feet  from  the  ground. 

In  this  way,  with  ten  warriors,  I  built  a  series 
of  three  steps  from  the  ground  to  the  shoulders  of 
the  topmost  man.  Then  starting  from  a  short  dis 
tance  behind  them  I  ran  swiftly  up  from  one  tier 
to  the  next,  and  with  a  final  bound  from  the  broad 
shoulders  of  the  highest  I  clutched  the  top  of  the 
great  wall  and  quietly  drew  myself  to  its  broad 
expanse.  After  me  I  dragged  six  lengths  of  leather 
from  an  equal  number  of  my  warriors.  These 
lengths  we  had  previously  fastened  together,  and 
passing  one  end  to  the  topmost  warrior  I  lowered 
the  other  end  cautiously  over  the  opposite  side  of 
the  wall  toward  the  avenue  below.  No  one  was 
in  sight,  so,  lowering  myself  to  the  end  of  my 
leather  strap,  I  dropped  the  remaining  thirty  feet 
to  the  pavement  below. 

I  had  learned  from  Kantos  Kan  the  secret  of 
opening  these  gates,  and  in  another  moment  my 
twenty  great  fighting  men  stood  within  the  doomed 
city  of  Zodanga. 

I  found  to  my  delight  that  I  had  entered  at  the 
lower  boundary  of  the  enormous  palace  grounds. 
The  building  itself  showed  in  the  distance  a  blaze 
[292] 


TARS  TARKAS  FINDS  A  FRIEND 

of  glorious  light,  and  on  the  instant  I  determined 
to  lead  a  detachment  of  warriors  directly  within 
the  palace  itself,  while  the  balance  of  the  great 
horde  was  attacking  the  barracks  of  the  soldiery. 
Dispatching  one  of  my  men  to  Tars  Tarkas  for 
a  detail  of  fifty  Tharks,  with  word  of  my  inten 
tions,  I  ordered  ten  warriors  to  capture  and  open 
one  of  the  great  gates  while  with  the  nine  remain 
ing  I  took  the  other.  We  were  to  do  our  work 
quietly,  no  shots  were  to  be  fired  and  no  general  ad 
vance  made  until  I  had  reached  the  palace  with  my 
fifty  Tharks.  Our  plans  worked  to  perfection.  The 
two  sentries  we  met  were  dispatched  to  their 
fathers  upon  the  banks  of  the  lost  sea  of  Korus, 
and  the  guards  at  both  gates  followed  them  in 
silence. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

THE  LOOTING  OF  ZODANGA 

AS  the  great  gate  where  I  stood  swung  open 
my  fifty  Tharks,  headed  by  Tars  Tarkas 
himself,  rode  in  upon  their  mighty  thoats.  I  led 
them  to  the  palace  walls,  which  I  negotiated  easily 
without  assistance.  Once  inside,  however,  the 
gate  gave  me  considerable  trouble,  but  I  finally 
was  rewarded  by  seeing  it  swing  upon  its  huge 
hinges,  and  soon  my  fierce  escort  was  riding  across 
the  gardens  of  the  jeddak  of  Zodanga. 

As  we  approached  the  palace  I  could  see  through 
the  great  windows  of  the  first  floor  into  the  bril 
liantly  illuminated  audience  chamber  of  Than 
Kosis.  The  immense  hall  was  crowded  with  nobles 
and  their  women,  as  though  some  important  func 
tion  was  in  progress.  There  was  not  a  guard  in 
sight  without  the  palace,  due,  I  presume,  to  the 
fact  that  the  city  and  palace  walls  were  considered 
impregnable,  and  so  I  came  close  and  peered 
within. 

At  one  end  of  the  chamber,  upon  massive  golden 
[294J 


VHE  LOOTING  OF  ZODANGA 

thrones  encrusted  with  diamonds,  sat  Than  Kosis 
and  his  consort,  surrounded  by  officers  and  dig 
nitaries  of  state.  Before  them  stretched  a  broad 
aisle  lined  on  either  side  with  soldiery,  and  as  I 
looked  there  entered  this  aisle  at  the  far  end  of 
the  hall,  the  head  of  a  procession  which  advanced 
to  the  foot  of  the  throne. 

First  there  marched  four  officers  of  the  jed- 
dak's  Guard  bearing  a  huge  salver  on  which 
reposed,  upon  a  cushion  of  scarlet  silk,  a  great 
golden  chain  with  a  collar  and  padlock  at  each 
end.  Directly  behind  these  officers  came  four 
others  carrying  a  similar  salver  which  supported 
the  magnificent  ornaments  of  a  prince  and  prin 
cess  of  the  reigning  house  of  Zodanga. 

At  the  foot  of  the  throne  these  two  parties  sep 
arated  and  halted,  facing  each  other  at  opposite 
sides  of  the  aisle.  Then  came  more  dignitaries, 
and  the  officers  of  the  palace  and  of  the  army, 
and  finally  two  figures  entirely  muffled  in  scarlet 
silk,  so  that  not  a  feature  of  either  was  discern 
ible.  These  two  stopped  at  the  foot  of  the  throne, 
facing  Than  Kosis.  When  the  balance  of  the  pro 
cession  had  entered  and  assumed  their  stations 
Than  Kosis  addressed  the  couple  standing  before 
him.  I  could  not  hear  his  words,  but  presently 
[295] 


CHAPTER  XXV 

THE  LOOTING  OF  ZODANGA 

AS  the  great  gate  where  I  stood  swung  open 
my  fifty  Tharks,  headed  by  Tars  Tarkas 
himself,  rode  in  upon  their  mighty  thoats.  I  led 
them  to  the  palace  walls,  which  I  negotiated  easily 
without  assistance.  Once  inside,  however,  the 
gate  gave  me  considerable  trouble,  but  I  finally 
was  rewarded  by  seeing  it  swing  upon  its  huge 
hinges,  and  soon  my  fierce  escort  was  riding  across 
the  gardens  of  the  jeddak  of  Zodanga. 

As  we  approached  the  palace  I  could  see  through 
the  great  windows  of  the  first  floor  into  the  bril 
liantly  illuminated  audience  chamber  of  Than 
Kosis.  The  immense  hall  was  crowded  with  nobles 
and  their  women,  as  though  some  important  func 
tion  was  in  progress.  There  was  not  a  guard  in 
sight  without  the  palace,  due,  I  presume,  to  the 
fact  that  the  city  and  palace  walls  were  considered 
impregnable,  and  so  I  came  close  and  peered 
within. 

At  one  end  of  the  chamber,  upon  massive  golden 
[294J 


VHE  LOOTING  OF  ZODANGA 

thrones  encrusted  with  diamonds,  sat  Than  Kosis 
and  his  consort,  surrounded  by  officers  and  dig 
nitaries  of  state.  Before  them  stretched  a  broad 
aisle  lined  on  either  side  with  soldiery,  and  as  I 
looked  there  entered  this  aisle  at  the  far  end  of 
the  hall,  the  head  of  a  procession  which  advanced 
to  the  foot  of  the  throne. 

First  there  marched  four  officers  of  the  jed- 
dak's  Guard  bearing  a  huge  salver  on  which 
reposed,  upon  a  cushion  of  scarlet  silk,  a  great 
golden  chain  with  a  collar  and  padlock  at  each 
end.  Directly  behind  these  officers  came  four 
others  carrying  a  similar  salver  which  supported 
the  magnificent  ornaments  of  a  prince  and  prin 
cess  of  the  reigning  house  of  Zodanga. 

At  the  foot  of  the  throne  these  two  parties  sep 
arated  and  halted,  facing  each  other  at  opposite 
sides  of  the  aisle.  Then  came  more  dignitaries, 
and  the  officers  of  the  palace  and  of  the  army, 
and  finally  two  figures  entirely  muffled  in  scarlet 
silk,  so  that  not  a  feature  of  either  was  discern 
ible.  These  two  stopped  at  the  foot  of  the  throne, 
facing  Than  Kosis.  When  the  balance  of  the  pro 
cession  had  entered  and  assumed  their  stations 
Than  Kosis  addressed  the  couple  standing  before 
him.  I  could  not  hear  his  words,  but  presently 
[295] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


two  officers  advanced  and  removed  the  scarlet 
robe  from  one  of  the  figures,  and  I  saw  that  Kantos 
Kan  had  failed  in  his  mission,  for  it  was  Sab  Than, 
Prince  of  Zodanga,  who  stood  revealed  before  me. 

Than  Kosis  now  took  a  set  of  the  ornaments 
from  one  of  the  salvers  and  placed  one  of  the  col 
lars  of  gold  about  his  son's  neck,  springing  the 
padlock  fast.  After  a  few  more  words  addressed 
to  Sab  Than  he  turned  to  the  other  figure,  from 
which  the  officers  now  removed  the  enshrouding 
silks,  disclosing  to  my  now  comprehending  view 
Dejah  Thoris,  Princess  of  Helium. 

The  object  of  the  ceremony  was  clear  to  me; 
in  another  moment  Dejah  Thoris  would  be  joined 
forever  to  the  Prince  of  Zodanga.  It  was  an 
impressive  and  beautiful  ceremony,  I  presume,  but 
to  me  it  seemed  the  most  fiendish  sight  I  had  ever 
witnessed,  and  as  the  ornaments  were  adjusted 
upon  her  beautiful  figure  and  her  collar  of  gold 
swung  open  in  the  hands  of  Than  Kosis  I  raised 
my  long-sword  above  my  head,  and,  with  the  heavy 
hilt,  I  shattered  the  glass  of  the  great  window 
and  sprang  into  the  midst  of  the  astonished  assem 
blage.  With  a  bound  I  was  on  the  steps  of  the 
platform  beside  Than  Kosis,  and  as  he  stood 
riveted  with  surprise  I  brought  my  long-sword 

[296] 


THE  LOOTING  OF  ZODANGA 

down  upon  the  golden  chain  that  would  have  bound 
Dejah  Thoris  to  another. 

In  an  instant  all  was  confusion;  a  thousana 
drawn  swords  menaced  me  from  every  quarter, 
and  Sab  Than  sprang  upon  me  with  a  jeweled 
dagger  he  had  drawn  from  his  nuptial  ornaments. 
I  could  have  killed  him  as  easily  as  I  might  a  fly, 
but  the  age-old  custom  of  Barsoom  stayed  my  hand, 
and  grasping  his  wrist  as  the  dagger  flew  toward 
my  heart  I  held  him  as  though  in  a  vise  and  with 
my  long-sword  pointed  to  the  far  end  of  the  hall. 

"Zodanga  has  fallen,"  I  cried.     "Look!" 

All  eyes  turned  in  the  direction  I  had  indicated, 
and  there,  forging  through  the  portals  of  the 
entrance-way  rode  Tars  Tarkas  and  his  fifty  war 
riors  on  their  great  thoats. 

A  cry  of  alarm  and  amazement  broke  from 
the  assemblage,  but  no  word  of  fear,  and  in  a 
moment  the  soldiers  and  nobles  of  Zodanga  were 
hurling  themselves  upon  the  advancing  Tharks. 

Thrusting  Sab  Than  headlong  from  the  plat 
form,  I  drew  Dejah  Thoris  to  my  side.  Behind 
the  throne  was  a  narrow  doorway  and  in  this 
Than  Kosis  now  stood  facing  me,  with  drawn 
long-sword.  In  an  instant  we  were  engaged,,  and 
I  found  no  mean  antagonist. 

[297] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


As  we  circled  upon  the  broad  platform  I  saw 
Sab  Than  rushing  up  the  steps  to  aid  his  father, 
but,  as  he  raised  his  hand  to  strike,  Dejah  Thoris 
sprang  before  him  and  then  my  sword  found  the 
spot  that  made  Sab  Than  jeddak  of  Zodanga.  As 
his  father  rolled  dead  upon  the  floor  the  new  jed 
dak  tore  himself  free  from  Dejah  Thoris'  grasp, 
and  again  we  faced  each  other.  He  was  soon 
joined  by  a  quartet  of  officers,  and,  with  my  back 
against  a  golden  throne,  I  fought  once  again  for 
Dejah  Thoris.  I  was  hard  pressed  to  defend 
myself  and  yet  not  strike  down  Sab  Than  and, 
with  him,  my  last  chance  to  win  the  woman  I 
loved.  My  blade  was  swinging  with  the  rapidity 
of  lightning  as  I  sought  to  parry  the  thrusts  and 
cuts  of  my  opponents.  Two  I  had  disarmed,  and 
one  was  down,  when  several  more  rushed  to  the 
aid  of  their  new  ruler,  and  to  avenge  the  death  of 
the  old. 

As  they  advanced  there  were  cries  of  "The 
woman!  The  woman!  Strike  her  down;  it  is  her 
plot.  Kill  her  I  Kill  her  I" 

Calling  to  Dejah  Thoris  to  get  behind  me  I 

worked  my  way  toward  the  little  doorway  back  of 

the  throne,  but  the  officers  realized  my  intentions, 

and  three  of  them  sprang  in  behind  me  and  blocked 

[298] 


THE  LOOTING  OF  ZODANGA 


my  chances  for  gaming  a  position  where  I  could 
have  defended  Dejah  Thoris  against  an  army  of 
swordsmen. 

The  Tharks  were  having  their  hands  full  in  the 
center  of  the  room,  and  I  began  to  realize  that 
nothing  short  of  a  miracle  could  save  Dejah  Thoris 
and  myself,  when  I  saw  Tars  Tarkas  surging 
through  the  crowd  of  pigmies  that  swarmed  about 
him.  With  one  swing  of  his  mighty  long-sword  he 
laid  a  dozen  corpses  at  his  feet,  and  so  he  hewed  a 
pathway  before  him  until  in  another  moment  he 
stood  upon  the  platform  beside  me,  dealing  death 
and  destruction  right  and  left. 

The  bravery  of  the  Zodangans  was  awe-inspir 
ing,  not  one  attempted  to  escape,  and  when  the 
fighting  ceased  it  was  because  only  Tharks 
remained  alive  in  the  great  hall,  other  than  Dejah 
Thoris  and  myself. 

Sab  Than  lay  dead  beside  his  father,  and  the 
corpses  of  the  flower  of  Zodangan  nobility  and 
chivalry  covered  the  floor  of  the  bloody  shambles. 

My  first  thought  when  the  battle  was  over  was 
for  Kantos  Kan,  and  leaving  Dejah  Thoris  in 
charge  of  Tars  Tarkas  I  took  a  dozen  warriors 
and  hastened  to  the  dungeons  beneath  the  pal»ce. 
The  jailers  had  all  left  to  join  the  fighters  in  tfcrt 

[299] 


throne  room,  so  we  searched  the  labyrinthine 
prison  without  opposition. 

I  called  Kantos  Kan's  name  aloud  in  each  new 
corridor  and  compartment,  and  finally  I  was 
rewarded  by  hearing  a  faint  response.  Guided 
by  the  sound,  we  soon  found  him  helpless  in  a 
daYk  recess. 

He  was  overjoyed  at  seeing  me,  and  to  know 
the  meaning  of  the  fight,  faint  echoes  of  which 
had  reached  his  prison  cell.  He  told  me  that  the 
air  patrol  had  captured  him  before  he  reached 
the  high  tower  of  the  palace,  so  that  he  had  not 
even  seen  Sab  Than. 

We  discovered  that  it  would  be  futile  to  attempt 
to  cut  away  the  bars  and  chains  which  held  him 
prisoner,  so,  at  his  suggestion  I  returned  to  search 
the  bodies  on  the  floor  above  for  keys  to  open  the 
padlocks  of  his  cell  and  of  his  chains. 

Fortunately  among  the  first  I  examined  I  found 
his  jailer,  and  soon  we  had  Kantos  Kan  with  u» 
in  the  throne  room. 

The  sounds  of  heavy  firing,  mingled  with  shouts 
and  cries,  came  to  us  from  the  city's  streets,  and 
Tars  Tarkas  hastened  away  to  direct  the  fighting 
without.  Kantos  Kan  accompanied  him  to  act  as 
guide,  the  green  warriors  commencing  a  thorough 
[300] 


THE  LOOTING  OF  ZODANGA 

search  of  the  palace  for  other  Zodangans  and  for 
loot,  and  Dejah  Thoris  and  I  were  left  alone. 

She  had  sunk  into  one  of  the  golden  thrones, 
and  as  I  turned  to  her  she  greeted  me  with  a  wan 
smile. 

"  Was  there  ever  such  a  man  I "  she  exclaimed. 
"  I  know  that  Barsoom  has  never  before  seen  yeur 
like.  Ca-n  it  be  that  all  Earth  men  are  as  you? 
Alone,  a  stranger,  hunted,  threatened,  persecuted, 
you  have  done  in  a  few  short  months  what  in  all 
the  past  ages  of  Barsoom  no  man  has  ever  done : 
joined  together  the  wild  hordes  of  the  sea  bottoms 
and  brought  them  to  fight  as  allies  of  a  red  Mar 
tian  people." 

"The  answer  is  easy,  Dejah  Thoris,"  I  replied 
smiling.  "It  was  not  I  who  did  it,  it  was  love, 
love  for  Dejah  Thoris,  a  power  that  would  work 
greater  miracles  than  this  you  have  seen." 

A  pretty  flush  overspread  her  face  and  she 
answered, 

"You  may  say  that  now,  John  Carter,  and  I 
may  listen,  for  I  am  free." 

"And  more  still  I  have  to  say,  ere  it  is  again 
too  late,"  I  returned.  "  I  have  done  many  strange 
things  in  my  life,  many  things  that  wiser  men 
would  not  have  dared,  but  never  in  my  wildest 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


fancies  have  I  dreamed  of  winning  a  Dejah  Thoris 
for  myself — for  never  had  I  dreamed  that  in  all 
the  universe  dwelt  such  a  woman  as  the  Princess 
of  Helium.  That  you  are  a  princess  does  not 
abash  me,  but  that  you  are  you  is  enough  to  make 
me  doubt  my  sanity  as  I  ask  you,  my  princess,  to 
be  mine." 

"  He  does  not  need  to  be  abashed  who  so  well 
knew  the  answer  to  his  plea  before  the  plea  were 
irade,"  she  replied,  rising  and  placing  her  dear 
hands  upon  my  shoulders,  and  so  I  took  her  in  my 
arms  and  kissed  her. 

And  thus  in  the  midst  of  a  city  of  wild  conflict, 
filled  with  the  alarms  of  war;  with  death  and 
destruction  reaping  their  terrible  harvest  around 
her,  did  Dejah  Thoris,  Princess  of  Helium,  true 
daughter  of  Mars,  the  God  of  War,  promise  her 
self  in  marriage  to  John  Carter,  Gentleman  of 
.Virginia. 


[302] 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

!  THROUGH  CARNAGE  TO  JOY 

SOMETIME  later  Tars  Tarkas  and  Kantos 
Kan  returned  to  report  that  Zodanga  had 
been  completely  reduced.  Her  forces  were  entirely 
destroyed  or  captured,  and  no  further  resistance 
was  to  be  expected  from  within.  Several  battle 
ships  had  escaped,  but  there  were  thousands  of 
war  and  merchant  vessels  under  guard  of  Thark 
warriors. 

The  lesser  hordes  had  commenced  looting  and 
quarreling  among  themselves,  so  it  was  decided 
that  we  collect  what  warriors  we  could,  man  as 
many  vessels  as  possible  with  Zodangan  prisoners 
and  make  for  Helium  without  further  loss  of  time. 

Five  hours  later  we  sailed  from  the  roofs  of 
the  dock  buildings  with  a  fleet  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  battleships,  carrying  nearly  one  hundred 
thousand  green  warrjors,  followed  by  a  fleet  of 
transports  with  our  thoats. 

Behind  us  we  left  the  stricken  city  in  the  fierce 
and  brutal  clutches  of  some  forty  thousand  gretf  x 
[303] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


warriors  of  the  lesser  hordes.  They  were  looting, 
murdering,  and  fighting  amongst  themselves.  In 
a  hundred  places  they  had  applied  the  torch,  and 
columns  of  dense  smoke  were  rising  above  the 
city  as  though  to  blot  out  from  the  eye  of  heaven 
the  horrid  sights  beneath. 

In  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  we  sighted  the 
scarlet  and  yellow  towers  of  Helium,  and  a  short 
time  later  a  great  fleet  of  Zodangan  battleships 
rose  from  the  camps  of  the  besiegers  without  the 
city,  and  advanced  to  meet  us. 

The  banners  of  Helium  had  been  strung  from 
stem  to  stern  of  each  of  our  mighty  craft,  but  the 
Zodangans  did  not  need  this  sign  to  realize  that 
we  were  enemies,  for  our  green  Martian  warriors 
had  opened  fire  upon  them  almost  as  they  left  the 
ground.  With  their  uncanny  marksmanship  they 
raked  the  on-coming  fleet  with  volley  after  volley. 

The  twin  cities  of  Helium,  perceiving  that  we 
were  friends,  sent  out  hundreds  of  vessels  to  aid 
us,  and  then  began  the  first  real  air  battle  I  had 
ever  witnessed. 

The  vessels  carrying  our  green  warriors  were 

kept  circling  above  the  contending  fleets  of  Helium 

and  Zodanga,  since  their  batteries  were  useless  in 

the  hands  of  the  Tharks  who,  having  no  navy, 

[304] 


THROUGH  CARNAGE  TO  JOY 

•      —  *  i» 

have  no  skill  in  naval  gunnery.  Their  smallarm 
fire,  however,  was  most  effective,  and  the  final 
outcome  of  the  engagement  was  strongly  influ 
enced,  if  not  wholly  determined,  by  their  presence. 

At  first  the  two  forces  circled  at  the  same  alti 
tude,  pouring  broadside  after  broadside  into  each 
other.  Presently  a  great  hole  was  torn  in  the  hull 
of  one  of  the  immense  battle  craft  from  the  Zodan- 
gan  camp ;  with  a  lurch  she  turned  completely  over, 
the  little  figures  of  her  crew  plunging,  turning  and 
twisting  toward  the  ground  a  thousand  feet  below; 
then  with  sickening  velocity  she  tore  after  them, 
almost  completely  burying  herself  in  the  soft  loam 
of  the  ancient  sea  bottom. 

A  wild  cry  of  exultation  arose  from  the  Hel- 
iumite  squadron,  and  with  redoubled  ferocity  they 
fell  upon  the  Zodangan  fleet.  By  a  pretty  maneu 
ver  two  of  the  vessels  of  Helium  gained  a  posi 
tion  above  their  adversaries,  from  which  they 
poured  upon  them  from  their  keel  bomb  batteries 
a  perfect  torrent  of  exploding  bombs. 

Then,  one  by  one,  the  battleships  of  Helium 
succeeded  in  rising  above  the  Zodangans,  and  in  a 
short  time  a  number  of  the  beleaguering  battleships 
were  drifting  hopeless  wrecks  toward  the  high 
scarlet  tower  of  greater  Helium.  Several  others 
[405] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


attempted  to  escape,  but  they  were  soon  surrounded 
by  thousands  of  tiny  individual  fliers,  and  above 
each  hung  a  monster  battleship  of  Helium  ready 
to  drop  boarding  parties  upon  their  decks. 

Within  but  little  more  than  an  hour  from  the 
moment  the  victorious  Zodangan  squadron  had 
risen  to  meet  us  from  the  camp  of  the  besiegers 
the  battle  was  over,  and  the  remaining  vessels  of 
the  conquered  Zodangans  were  headed  toward  the 
cities  of  Helium  under  prize  crews. 

There  was  an  extremely  pathetic  side  to  the  sur 
render  of  these  mighty  fliers,  the  result  of  an  age- 
old  custom  which  demanded  that  surrender  should 
be  signalized  by  the  voluntary  plunging  to  earth 
of  the  commander  of  the  vanquished  vessel.  One 
after  another  the  brave  fellows,  holding  their 
colors  high  above  their  heads,  leaped  from  the 
towering  bows  of  their  mighty  craft  to  an  awful 
death. 

Not  until  the  commander  of  the  entire  fleet 
took  the  fearful  plunge,  thus  indicating  the  sur 
render  of  the  remaining  vessels,  did  the  fighting 
cease,  and  the  useless  sacrifice  of  brave  men  come 
to  an  end. 

We  now  signaled  the  flagship  of  Helium's  navy 
to  approach,  and  when  she  was  within  hailing  dis* 
[306] 


THROUGH  CARNAGE  TO  JOY 

tance  I  called  out  that  we  had  the  Princess  Dejah 
Thoris  on  board,  and  that  we  wished  to  transfer 
her  to  the  flagship  that  she  might  be  taken  imme 
diately  to  the  city. 

As  the  full  import  of  my  announcement  bore 
in  upon  them  a  great  cry  arose  from  the  decks  of 
the  flagship,  and  a  moment  later  the  colors  of  the 
Princess  of  Helium  broke  from  a  hundred  points 
upon  her  upper  works.  When  the  other  vessels 
of  the  squadron  caught  the  meaning  of  the  signals 
flashed  them  they  took  up  the  wild  acclaim  and 
unfurled  her  colors  in  the  gleaming  sunlight. 

The  flagship  bore  down  upon  us,  and  as  she 
swung  gracefully  to  and  touched  our  side  a  dozen 
officers  sprang  upon  our  decks.  As  their  aston 
ished  gaze  fell  upon  the  hundreds  of  green 
warriors,  who  now  came  forth  from  the  fighting 
shelters,  they  stopped  aghast,  but  at  sight  of  Kan- 
tos  Kan,  who  advanced  to  meet  them,  they  came 
forward,  crowding  about  him. 

Dejah  Thoris  and  I  then  advanced,  and  they 
had  no  eyes  for  other  than  her.  She  received  them 
gracefully,  calling  each  by  name,  for  they  were 
men  high  in  the  esteem  and  service  of  her  grand 
father,  and  she  knew  them  well. 

"Lay  your  hands  upon  the  shoulder  of  John 

[307] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


Carter,"  she  said  to  them,  turning  toward  me, 
"the  man  to  whom  Helium  owes  her  princess  as 
well  as  her  victory  today." 

They  were  very  courteous  to  me  and  said  many 
kind  and  complimentary  things,  but  what  seemed 
to  impress  them  most  was  that  I  had  won  the  aid 
of  the  fierce  Tharks  in  my  campaign  for  the  liber 
ation  of  Dejah  Thoris,  and  the  relief  of  Helium. 

"You  owe  your  thanks  more  to  another  man 
than  to  me,"  I  said,  "and  here  he  is;  meet  one  of 
Barsoom's  greatest  soldiers  and  statesmen,  Tars 
Tsrkas,  Jeddak  of  Thark." 

With  the  same  polished  courtesy  that  had 
marked  their  manner  toward  me  they  extended 
their  greetings  to  the  great  Thark,  nor,  to  my  sur 
prise,  was  he  much  behind  them  in  ease  of  bearing 
or  in  courtly  speech.  Though  not  a  garrulous  race, 
the  Tharks  are  extremely  formal,  and  their  ways 
lend  themselves  amazingly  to  dignified  and  courtly 
manners. 

Dejah  Thoris  went  aboard  the  flagship,  and 
was  much  put  out  that  I  would  not  follow,  but,  as 
I  explained  to  her,  the  battle  was  but  partly  won ; 
we  still  had  the  land  forces  of  the  besieging  Zodan- 
gans  to  account  for,  and  I  would  not  leave  Tars 
Tarkas  until  that  had  been  accomplished. 
[308] 


THROUGH  CARNAGE  TO  JOY 

The  commander  of  the  naval  forces  of  Helium 
promised  to  arrange  to  have  the  armies  of  Helium 
attack  from  the  city  in  conjunction  with  our  land 
attack,  and  so  the  vessels  separated  and  Dejah 
Thoris  was  borne  in  triumph  back  to  the  court  of 
her  grandfather, Tardos  Mors,  Jeddak  of  Helium. 

In  the  distance  lay  our  fleet  of  transports,  with 
the  thoats  of  the  green  warriors,  where  they  had 
remained  during  the  battle.  Without  landing 
stages  it  was  to  be  a  difficult  matter  to  unload  these 
beasts  upon  the  open  plain,  but  there  was  noth 
ing  else  for  it,  and  so  we  put  out  for  a  point  about 
ten  miles  from  the  city  and  began  the  task. 

It  was  necessary  to  lower  the  animals  to  the 
ground  in  slings  and  this  work  occupied  the  re 
mainder  of  the  day  and  half  the  night.  Twice 
we  were  attacked  by  parties  of  Zodangan  cavalry  J 
but  with  little  loss,  however,  and  after  darkness 
shut  down  they  withdrew. 

As  soon  as  the  last  thoat  was  unloaded  Tars 
Tarkas  gave  the  command  to  advance,  and  in 
three  parties  we  crept  upon  the  Zodangan  camp 
from  the  north,  the  south  and  the  east. 

About  a  mile  from  the  main  camp  we  encoun 
tered  their  outposts  and,  as  had  been  prearranged, 
accepted  this  as  the  signal  to  charge.  With  wild, 

[309] 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


ferocious  cries  and  amidst  the  nasty  squealing  of 
battle-enraged  thoats  we  bore  down  upon  the 
Zodangans. 

We  did  not  catch  them  napping,  but  found  a 
well-entrenched  battle  line  confronting  us.  Time 
after  time  we  were  repulsed  until,  toward  noon,  I 
began  to  fear  for  the  result  of  the  battle. 

The  Zodangans  numbered  nearly  a  million 
fighting  men,  gathered  from  pole  to  pole,  where- 
ever  stretched  their  ribbon-like  waterways,  while 
pitted  against  them  were  less  than  a  hundred  thou 
sand  green  warriors.  The  forces  from  Helium 
had  not  arrived,  nor  could  we  receive  any  word 
from  them. 

Just  at  noon  we  heard  heavy  firing  all  along  the 
line  between  the  Zodangans  and  the  cities,  and  we 
knew  then  that  our  much-needed  reinforcements 
had  come. 

Again  Tars  Tarkas  ordered  the  charge,  and 
once  more  the  mighty  thoats  bore  their  terrible 
riders  against  the  ramparts  of  the  enemy.  At  the 
same  moment  the  battle  line  of  Helium  surged 
over  the  opposite  breastworks  of  the  Zodangans 
and  in  another  moment  they  were  being  crushed 
as  between  two  millstones.  Nobly  they  fought, 
but  in  vain. 


THROUGH  CARNAGE  TO  JOY 

The  plain  before  the  city  became  a  veritable 
shambles  ere  the  last  Zodangan  surrendered,  but 
finally  the  carnage  ceased,  the  prisoners  were 
marched  back  to  Helium,  and  we  entered  the 
greater  city's  gates,  a  huge  triumphal  procession 
of  conquering  heroes. 

The  broad  avenues  were  lined  with  women  and 
children,  among  which  were  the  few  men  whose 
duties  necessitated  that  they  remain  within  the  city 
during  the  battle.  We  were  greeted  with  an  end 
less  round  of  applause  and  showered  with  orna 
ments  of  gold,  platinum,  silver,  and  precious 
jewels.  The  city  had  gone  mad  with  joy. 

My  fierce  Tharks  caused  the  wildest  excitement 
and  enthusiasm.  Never  before  had  an  armed  body 
of  green  warriors  entered  the  gates  of  Helium, 
and  that  they  came  now  as  friends  and  allies  filled 
the  red  men  with  rejoicing. 

That  my  poor  services  to  Dejah  Thoris  had 
become  known  to  the  Heliumites  was  evidenced 
by  the  loud  crying  of  my  name,  and  by  the  loads 
of  ornaments  that  were  fastened  upon  me  and  my 
huge  thoat  as  we  passed  up  the  avenues  to  the 
palace,  for  even  in  the  face  of  the  ferocious  ap 
pearance  of  Woola  the  populace  pressed  close 
about  me. 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 

As  we  approached  this  magnificent  pile  we  were 
met  by  a  party  of  officers  who  greeted  us  warmly 
and  requested  that  Tars  Tarkas  and  his  jeds  with 
the  jeddaks  and  jeds  of  his  wild  allies,  together 
with  myself,  dismount  and  accompany  them  to 
receive  from  Tardos  Mors  an  expression  of  his 
gratitude  for  our  services. 

At  the  top  of  the  great  steps  leading  up  to  the 
main  portals  of  the  palace  stood  the  royal  party, 
and  as  we  reached  the  lower  steps  one  of  their 
number  descended  to  meet  us.  He  was  an  almost 
perfect  specimen  of  manhood;  tall,  straight  as  an 
arrow,  superbly  muscled  and  with  the  carriage  and 
bearing  of  a  ruler  of  men.  I  did  not  need  to  be 
told  that  he  was  Tardos  Mors,  Jeddak  of  Helium. 

The  first  member  of  our  party  he  met  was  Tars 
Tarkas  and  his  first  words  sealed  forever  the  new 
friendship  between  the  races. 

"That  Tardos  Mors,"  he  said,  earnestly,  "may 
meet  the  greatest  living  warrior  of  Barsoom  is  a 
priceless  honor,  but  that  he  may  lay  his  hand  on 
the  shoulder  of  a  friend  and  ally  is  a  far  greater 
boon." 

"Jeddak  of  Helium,"  returned  Tars  Tarkas, 
"  it  has  remained  for  a  man  of  another  world  to 
teach  the  green  warriors  of  Barsoom  the  meaning 
F3I2] 


THROUGH  CARNAGE  TO  JOY 

of  friendship;  to  him  we  owe  the  fact  that  the 
hordes  of  Thark  can  understand  you;  that  they 
can  appreciate  and  reciprocate  the  sentiments  so 
graciously  expressed." 

Tardos  Mors  then  greeted  eaich  of  the  green 
yeddaks  and  jeds,  and  to  each  spoke  words  of' 
friendship  and  appreciation. 

As  he  approached  me  he  laid  both  hands  upon 
my  shoulders. 

"Welcome,  my  son,"  he  said;  "that  you  are 
granted,  gladly,  and  without  one  word  of  oppo- 
sition,  the  most  precious  jewel  in  all  Helium,  yes, 
on  all  Barsoom,  is  sufficient  earnest  of  my  esteem." 

We  were  then  presented  to  Mors  Kajak,  Jed  of 
lesser  Helium,  and  father  of  Dejah  Thoris.  He 
had  followed  close  behind  Tardos  Mors  and 
seemed  even  more  affected  by  the  meeting  than  had 
his  father. 

He  tried  a  dozen  times  to  express  his  gratitude 
to  me,  but  his  voice  choked  with  emotion  and  he 
could  not  speak,  and  yet  he  had,  as  I  was  to  later 
learn,  a  reputation  for  ferocity  and  fearlessness 
as  a  fighter  that  was  remarkable  even  upon  war 
like  Barsoom.  In  common  with  all  Helium  he 
worshiped  his  daughter,  nor  could  he  think  of 
what  she  had  escaped  without  deep  emotion. 


F 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

FROM  JOY  TO  DEATH 

OR  ten  days  the  hordes  of  Thark  and  their 
wild  allies  were  feasted  and  entertained,  and, 
then,  loaded  with  costly  presents  and  escorted  by 
ten  thousand  soldiers  of  Helium  commanded  by 
Mors  Kajak,  they  started  on  the  return  journey  to 
their  own  lands.  The  jed  of  lesser  Helium  with 
a  small  party  of  nobles  accompanied  them  all  the 
way  to  Thark  to  cement  more  closely  the  new 
bonds  of  peace  and  friendship. 

Sola  also  accompanied  Tars  Tarkas,  her  father, 
who  before  all  his  chieftains  had  acknowledged 
her  as  his  daughter. 

Three  weeks  later,  Mors  Kajak  and  his  officers, 
accompanied  by  Tars  Tarkas  and  Sola,  returned 
upon  a  battleship  that  had  been  dispatched  to 
Thark  to  fetch  them  in  time  for  the  ceremony 
which  made  Dejah  Thoris  and  John  Carter  one. 

For  nine  years  I  served  in  the  councils  and 
fought  in  the  armies  of  Helium  as  a  prince  of  the 
house  of  Tardos  Mors.  The  people  seemed  never 

[314] 


FROM  JOY  TO  DEATH 


to  tire  of  heaping  honors  upon  me,  and  no  day 
passed  that  did  not  bring  some  new  proof  of  their 
love  for  my  princess,  the  incomparable  Dejah 
Thoris. 

In  a  golden  incubator  upon  the  roof  of  our 
palace  lay  a  snow-white  egg.  For  nearly  five 
years  ten  soldiers  of  the  jeddak's  Guard  had  con 
stantly  stood  over  it,  and  not  a  day  passed  when 
I  was  in  the  city  that  Dejah  Thoris  and  I  did  not 
5tand  hand  in  hand  before  our  little  shrine  plan 
ning  for  the  future,  when  the  delicate  shell  should 
break. 

Vivid  in  my  memory  is  the  picture  of  the  last 
night  as  we  sat  there  talking  in  low  tones  of  the 
strange  romance  which  had  woven  our  lives 
together  and  of  this  wonder  which  was  coming  to 
augment  our  happiness  and  fulfill  our  hopes. 

In  the  distance  we  saw  the  bright-white  light  of 
an  approaching  airship,  but  we  attached  no  special 
significance  to  so  common  a  sight.  Like  a  bolt  of 
iightning  it  raced  toward  Helium  until  its  very 
speed  bespoke  the  unusual. 

Flashing  the  signals  which  proclaimed  it  a  dis 
patch  bearer  for  the  jeddak,  it  circled  impatiently 
awaiting  the  tardy  patrol  boat  which  must  convoy 
it  to  the  palace  docks. 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


Ten  minutes  after  it  touched  at  the  palace  a 
message  called  me  to  the  council  chamber,  which 
I  found  filling  with  the  members  of  that  body. 

On  the  raised  platform  of  the  throne  was  Tar- 
dos  Mors,  pacing  back  and  forth  with  tense-drawn 
face.  When  all  were  in  their  seats  he  turned 
toward  us. 

"This  morning,"  he  said,  "word  reached  the 
several  governments  of  Barsoom  that  the  keeper 
of  the  atmosphere  plant  had  made  no  wireless 
report  for  two  days,  nor  had  almost  ceaseless  calls 
upon  him  from  a  score  of  capitals  elicited  a  sign 
of  response. 

"The  ambassadors  of  the  other  nations  asked 
us  to  take  the  matter  in  hand  and  hasten  the  assist 
ant  keeper  to  the  plant.  All  day  a  thousand  cruis 
ers  have  been  searching  for  him  until,  just  now 
one  of  them  returns  bearing  his  dead  body,  which 
was  found  in  the  pits  beneath  his  house  horribly 
mutilated  by  some  assassin. 

"  I  do  not  need  to  tell  you  what  this  means  to 
Barsoom.  It  would  take  months  to-  penetrate 
those  mighty  walls,  in  fact  the  work  has  already 
commenced,  and  there  would  be  little  to  fear  were 
the  engine  of  the  pumping  plant  to  run  as  it  should 
and  as  they  all  have  for  hundreds  of  years;  but 


FROM  JOY  TO  DEATH 


the  worst,  we  fear,  has  happened.  The  instru 
ments  show  a  rapidly  decreasing  air  pressure  on 
all  parts  of  Barsoom — the  engine  has  stopped." 

"My  gentlemen,"  he  concluded,  "we  have  at 
best  three  days  to  live." 

There  was  absolute  silence  for  several  minutes, 
and  then  a  young  noble  arose,  and  with  his  drawn 
sword  held  high  above  his  head  addressed  Tardos 
Mors. 

"The  men  of  Helium  have  prided  themselves 
that  they  have  ever  shown  Barsoom  how  a  nation 
of  red  men  should  live,  now  is  our  opportunity  to 
show  them  how  they  should  die.  Let  us  go  about 
our  duties  as  though  a  thousand  useful  years  still 
lay  before  us." 

The  chamber  rang  with  applause  and  as  there 
was  nothing  better  to  do  than  to  allay  the  fears 
of  the  people  by  our  example  we  went  our  ways 
with  smiles  upon  our  faces  and  sorrow  gnawing  at 
our  hearts. 

When  I  returned  to  my  palace  I  found  that  the 
rumor  already  had  reached  Dejah  Thoris,  so  I 
told  her  all  that  I  had  heard. 

"We  have  been  very  happy,  John  Carter,"  she 
said,  "  and  I  thank  whatever  fate  overtakes  us  chat 
it  permits  us  to  die  together." 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


The  next  two  days  brought  no  noticeable  change 
in  the  supply  of  air,  but  on  the  morning  of  the 
third  day  breathing  became  difficult  at  the  higher 
altitudes  of  the  roof  tops.  The  avenues  and  plazas 
of  Helium  were  filled  with  people.  All  business 
had  ceased.  For  the  most  part  the  people  looked 
bravely  into  the  face  of  their  unalterable  doom. 
Here  and  there,  however,  men  and  women  gave 
way  to  quiet  grief. 

Toward  the  middle  of  the  day  many  of  the 
weaker  commenced  to  succumb  and  within  an  hour 
the  people  of  Barsoom  were  sinking  by  thousands 
into  the  unconsciousness  which  precedes  death  by 
asphyxiation. 

Dejah  Thoris  and  I  with  the  other  members  of 
the  royal  family  ha3  collected  in  a  sunken  garden 
within  an  inner  court-yard  of  the  palace.  We  con 
versed  in  low  tones,  when  we  conversed  at  all, 
as  the  awe  of  the  grim  shadow  of  death  crept 
over  us.  Even  Woola  seemed  to  feel  the  weight 
of  the  impending  calamity,  for  he  pressed  close 
to  Dejah  Thoris  and  to  me,  whining  pitifully. 

The  little  incubator  had  been  brought  from  the 
roof  of  our  palace  at  request  of  Dejah  Thoris 
and  she  sat  gazing  longingly  upon  the  unknown 
little  life  that  now  she  would  never  know. 


As  it  was  becoming  perceptibly  difficult  to 
breathe  Tardos  Mors  arose,  saying, 

"  Let  us  bid  each  other  farewell.  The  days  of 
the  greatness  of  Barsoom  are  over.  Tomorrow's 
sun  will  look  down  upon  a  dead  world  whicK 
through  all  eternity  must  go  swinging  through  the 
heavens  peopled  not  even  by  memories.  It  is  the 
end." 

He  stooped  and  kissed  the  women  of  his  family, 
and  laid  his  strong  hand  upon  the  shoulders  of 
the  men. 

As  I  turned  sadly  from  him  my  eyes  fell  upon 
Dejah  Thoris.  Her  head  was  drooping  upon  her 
breast,  to  all  appearances  she  was  lifeless.  With 
a  cry  I  sprang  to  her  and  raised  her  in  my  arms. 

Her  eyes  opened  and  looked  into  mine. 

"Kiss  me,  John  Carter,"  she  murmured.  "I 
love  you !  I  love  you !  It  is  cruel  that  we  must 
be  torn  apart  who  were  just  starting  upon  a  life  of 
love  and  happiness." 

As  I  pressed  her  dear  lips  to  mine  the  old  feel 
ing  of  unconquerable  power  and  authority  rose  in 
me.  The  fighting  blood  of  Virginia  sprang  to  life 
in  my  veins. 

"  It  shall  not  be,  my  princess,"  I  cried.  "  There 
is,  there  must  be  some  way,  and  John  Carter,  who 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


has  fought  his  way  through  a  strange  world  for 
love  of  you,  will  find  it." 

And  with  my  words  there  crept  above  the  thresh- 
.old  of  my  conscious  mind  a  series  of  nine  long 
forgotten  sounds.  Like  a  flash  of  lightning  in  the 
darkness  their  full  purport  dawned  upon  me  — 
the  key  to  the  three  great  doors  of  the  atmosphere 
plant  1 

Turning  suddenly  toward  Tardos  Mors  as  I 
still  clasped  my  dying  love  to  my  breast  I  cried, 

"A  flier,  Jeddak!  Quick!  Order  your  swiftest 
flier  to  the  palace  top.  I  can  save  Barsoom  yet." 

He  did  not  wait  to  question,  but  in  an  instant 
a  guard  was  racing  to  the  nearest  dock  and  though 
the  air  was  thin  and  almost  gone  at  the  roof  top 
they  managed  to  launch  the  fastest  one-man,  air- 
scout  machine  that  the  skill  of  Barsoom  had  ever 
produced. 

Kissing  Dejah  Thoris  a  dozen  times  and  com 
manding  Woola,  who  would  have  followed  me, 
to  remain  and  guard  her,  I  bounded  with  my  old 
agility  and  strength  to  the  high  ramparts  of  the 
palace,  and  in  another  moment  I  was  headed 
toward  the  goal  of  the  hopes  of  all  Barsoom. 

I  had  to  fly  low  to  get  sufficient  air  to  breathe, 
but  I  took  a  straight  course  across  an  old  sea 
[320] 


FROM  JOY  TO  DEATH 


bottom  and  so  had  to  rise  only  a  few  feet  above 
the  ground. 

I  traveled  with  awful  velocity  for  my  errand 
fwas  a  race  against  time  with  death.  The  face  of 
Dejah  Thoris  hung  always  before  me.  As  I 
turned  for  a  last  look  as  I  left  the  palace  garden 
I  had  seen  her  stagger  and  sink  upon  the  ground 
beside  the  little  incubator.  That  she  had  dropped 
into  the  last  coma  which  would  end  in  death,  if 
the  air  supply  remained  unreplenished,  I  well 
knew,  and  so,  throwing  caution  to  the  winds,  I 
flung  overboard  everything  but  the  engine  and 
compass,  even  to  my  ornaments,  and  lying  on  my 
belly  along  the  deck  with  one  hand  on  the  steering 
wheel  and  the  other  pushing  the  speed  lever  to  its 
last  notch  I  split  the  thin  air  of  dying  Mars  with 
the  speed  of  a  meteor. 

An  hour  before  dark  the  great  walls  of  the 
atmosphere  plant  loomed  suddenly  before  me,  and 
with  a  sickening  thud  I  plunged  to  the  ground 
before  the  small  door  which  was  withholding  the 
spark  of  life  from  the  inhabitants  of  an  entire 
planet. 

Beside  the  door  a  great  crew  of  men  had  been 
laboring  to  pierce  the  wall,  but  they  had  scarcely 
scratched  the  flint-like  surface,  and  now  most  of 


A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


them  lay  in  the  last  sleep  from  which  not  even  air 
would  awaken  them. 

Conditions  seemed  much  worse  here  than  at 
Helium,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  I  breathed 
at  all.  There  were  a  few  men  still  conscious, 
and  to  one  of  these  I  spoke. 

"  If  I  can  open  these  doors  is  there  a  man  who 
can  start  the  engines  ?  "  I  asked. 

"I  can,"  he  replied,  "if  you  open  quickly.  I 
can  last  but  a  few  moments  more.  But  it  is  use 
less,  they  are  both  dead  and  no  one  else  upon  Bar- 
soom  knew  the  secret  of  these  awful  locks.  For 
three  days  men  crazed  with  fear  have  surged 
about  this  portal  in  vain  attempts  to  solve  its 
mystery." 

I  had  no  time  to  talk,  I  was  becoming  very 
weak  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  I  controlled 
my  mind  at  all. 

But,  with  a  final  effort,  as  I  sank  weakly  to  my 
knees  I  hurled  the  nine  thought  waves  at  that 
awful  thing  before  me.  The  Martian  had  crawled 
to  my  side  and  with  staring  eyes  fixed  on  the  single 
panel  before  us  we  waited  in  the  silence  of  death. 

Slowly  the  mighty  door  receded  before  us.  I 
attempted  to  rise  and  follow  it  but  I  was  too 
weak. 

[322] 


FROM  JOY  TO  DEATH 


"After  it,"  I  cried  to  my  companion,  "and  if 
you  reach  the  pump  room  turn  loose  all  the  pumps. 
It  is  the  only  chance  Barsoom  has  to  exist  to 
morrow!  " 

From  where  I  lay  I  opened  the  second  door, 
and  then  the  third,  and  as  I  saw  the  hope  of  Bar 
soom  crawling  weakly  on  hands  and  knees  through 
the  last  doorway  I  sank  unconscious  upon  the 
ground. 


[323] 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

AT  THE  ARIZONA  CAVE 

IT  was  dark  when  I   opened  my  eyes  again. 
Strange,  stiff  garments  were  upon  my  body; 
garments  that  cracked  and  powdered  away  from 
me  as  I  rose  to  a  sitting  posture. 

I  felt  myself  over  from  head  to  foot  and  from 
head  to  foot  I  was  clothed,  though  when  I  fell 
unconscious  at  the  little  doorway  I  had  been 
naked.  Before  me  was  a  small  patch  of  moonlit 
sky  which  showed  through  a  ragged  aperture. 

As  my  hands  passed  over  my  body  they  came 
in  contact  with  pockets  and  in  one  of  these  a  small 
parcel  of  matches  wrapped  in  oiled  paper.  One  of 
these  matches  I  struck,  and  its  dim  flame  lighted 
up  what  appeared  to  be  a  huge  cave,  toward  the 
back  of  which  I  discovered  a  strange,  still  figure 
huddled  over  a  tiny  bench.  As  I  approached  it 
I  saw  that  it  was  the  dead  and  mummified  remains 
of  a  little  old  woman  with  long  black  hair,  and 
the  thing  it  leaned  over  was  a  small  charcoal  burner 
upon  which  rested  a  round  copper  vessel  contain 
ing  a  small  quantity  of  greenish  powder. 
[3^4] 


AT  THE  ARIZONA  CAFE 


Behind  her,  depending  from  the  roof  upon  raw 
hide  thongs,  and  stretching  entirely  across  the 
cave,  was  a  row  of  human  skeletons.  From  the 
thong  which  held  them  stretched  another  to  the 
dead  hand  of  the  little  old  woman;  as  I  touched 
the  cord  the  skeletons  swung  to  the  motion  with, 
a  noise  as  of  the  rustling  of  dry  leaves. 

It  was  a  most  grotesque  and  horrid  tableau 
and  I  hastened  out  into  the  fresh  air;  glad  to 
escape  from  so  gruesome  a  place. 

The  sight  that  met  my  eyes  as  I  stepped  out 
upon  a  small  ledge  which  ran  before  the  entrance 
of  the  cave  filled  me  with  consternation. 

A  new  heaven  and  a  new  landscape  met  my 
gaze.  The  silvered  mountains  in  the  distance, 
the  almost  stationary  moon  hanging  in  the  sky, 
the  cacti-studded  valley  below  me  were  not  of 
Mars.  I  could  scarce  believe  my  eyes,  but  the 
truth  slowly  forced  itself  upon  me  —  I  was  look 
ing  upon  Arizona  from  the  same  ledge  from  which 
ten  years  before  I  had  gazed  with  longing  upon 
Mars. 

Burying  my  head  in  my  arms  I  turned,  broken, 
and  sorrowful,  down  the  trail  from  the  cave. 

Above  me  shone  the  red  eye  of  Mars  holding 
her  awful  secret,  forty-eight  million  miles  away. 
[325] 


'A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 


Did  the  Martian  reach  the  pump  room?  Did 
the  vitalizing  air  reach  the  people  of  that  dis 
tant  planet  in  time  to  save  them?  Was  my  Dejah 
Thoris  alive,  or  did  her  beautiful  body  lie  cold  in 
death  beside  the  tiny  golden  incubator  in  the 
sunken  garden  of  the  inner  courtyard  of  the  palace 
of  Tardos  Mors,  the  jeddak  of  Helium? 

For  ten  years  I  have  waited  and  prayed  for  an 
answer  to  my  questions.  For  ten  years  I  have 
waited  and  prayed  to  be  taken  back  to  the  world 
of  my  lost  love.  I  would  rather  lie  dead  beside 
her  there  than  live  on  Earth  all  those  millions  of 
terrible  miles  from  her. 

The  old  mine,  which  I  found  untouched,  has 
made  me  fabulously  wealthy;  but  what  care  I  for 
wealth ! 

As  I  sit  here  tonight  in  my  little  study  over 
looking  the  Hudson,  just  twenty  years  have  elapsed 
since  I  first  opened  my  eyes  upon  Mars. 

I  can  see  her  shining  in  the  sky  through  the  little 
window  by  my  desk,  and  tonight  she  seems  calling 
to  me  again  as  she  has  not  called  before  since 
that  long  dead  night,  and  I  think  I  can  see,  across 
that  awful  abyss  of  space,  a  beautiful  black-haired 
woman  standing  in  the  garden  of  a  palace,  and  at 
her  side  is  a  little  boy  who  puts  his  arm  around 
[326] 


AT  THE  ARIZONA  CAFE 


her  as  she  points  into  the  sky  toward  the  planet 
Earth,  while  at  their  feet  is  a  huge  and  hideous 
creature  with  a  heart  of  gold. 

I  believe  that  they  are  waiting  there  for  me, 
and  something  tells  me  that  I  shall  soon  know. 


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JUNGLE  TALES  OF  TARZAN 
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A  PRINCESS  OF  MARS 
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"  Although  my  ancestry  is  all  of  New  England,  I  was  born 
in  the  old  town  of  Petersburg,  Virginia.  I  went  later  to 
Richmond  and  finally  at  the  age  of  five  to  Washington,  D. 
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PEACOCK  FEATHERS 

The  eternal  conflict  between  wealth  and  love.  Jerry,  the  idealist  who 
is  poor,  love*  Mimi,  a  beautiful,  spoiled  society  girL 

THE  DIM  LANTERN 

The  romance  of  little  Jane  Barnes  who  is  loved  by  two  men. 

THE  GAY  COCKADE 

Unusual  short  stories  where  Miss  Bailey  shows  her  keen  knowledge 
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THE  TRUMPETER  SWAN 

Randy  Paine  comes  back  from  France  to  the  monotony  of  every-day 
affairs.  But  the  girl  he  loves  shows  him  the  beauty  in  the  common-place. 

THE  TIN  SOLDIER 

A  man  who  wishes  to  serve  his  country,  but  is  bound  by  a  tie  he  can* 
not  in  honor  break — that's  Derry.  A  girl  who  loves  him,  shares  his  humiHa< 
lion  and  helps  him  to  win — that's  Jean.  Their  love  is  the  story. 

MISTRESS  ANNE 

A  girl  in  Maryland  teaches  school,  and  believes  that  work  is  worthy 
service.  Two  men  come  to  the  little  community ;  one  is  weak,  the  other 
strong,  and  both  need  Anne. 

CONTRARY  MARY 

An  old-fashioned  love  story  that  is  nevertheless  modern. 

GLORY  OF  YOUTH 

A  novel  that  deals  with  a  question,  old  and  yet  ever  new — how  far 
should  an  engagement  of  marriage  bind  two  persons  who  discover  they  no 
longer  love. 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,          PUBLISHERS,          NEW  YORK 


MARGARET  PEDLER'S  NOVELS 

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RED  ASHES 

A  gripping  story  of  a  doctor  who  failed  in  a  crucial  opera 
tion — and  had  only  himself  to  blame.  Conld  the  woman  he  loved 
forgive  him? 

THE  BARBARIAN  LOVER 

A  love  story  based  on  the  creed  that  the  only  important  things 
between  birth  and  death  are  the  courage  to  face  life  and  the  love 
to  sweeten  iu 

THE  MOON  OUT  OF  REACH 

Nan  Davenant's  problem  is  one  that  many  a  girl  has  faced— 
her  own  happiness  or  her  father's  bond. 

THE  HOUSE  OF  DREAMS-COME-TRUE 

How  a  man  and  a  woman  fulfilled  a  gypsy's  strange  prophecy, 

THE  HERMIT  OF  FAR  END 

How  love  made  its  way  into  a  walled-in  house  and  a  walled-in 
heart. 

THE  LAMP  OF  FATE 

The  story  of  a  woman  who  tried  to  take  all  and  give  nothing. 

THE  SPLENDID  FOLLY 

Do  you  believe  that  husbands  and  wives  should  have  no  se 
crets  from  each  other  ? 

THE  VISION  OF  DESIRE 

An  absorbing  romance  written  with  all  that  sense  of  feminine 
tenderness  that  has  given  the  novels  of  Margaret  Pedler  their 
universal  appeal 


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THE  COUNTRY  BEYOND 

THE  FLAMING  FOREST 

THE  VALLEY  OF  SILENT  MEN 

THE  RIVER'S  END 

THE  GOLDEN  SNARE 

NOMADS  OF  THE  NORTH 

KAZAN 

BAREE,  SON  OF  KAZAN 

THE  COURAGE  OF  CAPTAIN  PLUM 

THE  DANGER  TRAIL 

THE  HUNTED  WOMAN 

THE  FLOWER  OF  THE  NORTH 

THE  GRIZZLY  KING 

ISOBEL 

THE  WOLF   HUNTERS 

THE  GOLD  HUNTERS 

THE  COURAGE  OF  MARGE  ODOONE 

BACK  TO  GOD'S  COUNTRY 


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ZANE   GREY'S    NOVELS 

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THE  CALL  OF  THE  CANYON~~ 
WANDERER  OF  THE  WASTELAND 
TO  THE  LAST  MAN 


THE   MYSTERIOUS  RIDER 
THE  MAN  OF  THE  FOREST 
THE  DESERT  OF  WHEAT 
THE  U.  P.  TRAIL 


WILDFIRE 

THE  BORDER  LEGION 

THE  RAINBOW  TRAIL 

THE  HERITAGE  OF  THE  DESERT 

RIDERS  OF  THE  PURPLE  SAGE 

THE  LIGHT  OF  WESTERN  STARS 

THE  LAST  OF  THE  PLAINSMEN 

THE  LONE  STAR  RANGER  ~ 

DESERT  GOLD 


BETTY  ZANE 

THE  DAY  OF  THE  BEAST 

*     *     *     *     *     $ 

LAST  OF  THE  GREAT  SCOUTS 

The  life  story  of  "Buffalo  Bill"  by  his  sister  Helen  Cody  Wet- 
more,  with  Foreword  and  conclusion  by  Zane  Grey. 

ZANE  GREY'S  BOOKS  FOR  BOYS 

KEN  WARD  IN  THE  JUNGLE 
THE  YOUNG  LION  HUNTER 


THE  YOUNG  FORESTER 
THE  YOUNG  PITCHER 
THE  SHORT  STOP 


THE  RED-HEADED  OUTFIELD  AND  OTHER 
BASEBALL  STORIES 


GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,    PUBLISHERS,   NEW  YORK 


PETER  B.  KYNE'S  NOVELS 

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THE  ENCHANTED  HILL 

A  gorgeous  story  with  a  thrilling  mystery  and  a  beautiful  girl. 

NEVER  THE  TWAIN   SHALL  MEET 

A  romance  of  California  and  the  South  Seas. 
CAPPY  RICKS  RETIRES 

Cappy  retires,  but  the  romance  of  the  sea  and  business,  keep 
calling  him  back,  and  he  comes  back  strong. 

THE  PRIDE  OF  PALOMAR 

When  two  strong  men  clash  and  the  under-dog  has  Irish  blood 
in  his  veins — there's  a  tale  that  Kyne  can  tell ! 

KINDRED  OF  THE  DUST 

Donald  McKay,  son  of  Hector  McKay,  millionaire  lumber  king, 
falls  in  love  with  "  Nan  of  the  sawdust  pile,"  a  charming  girl  who 
has  been  ostracized  by  her  townsfolk. 

THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  GIANTS 

The  fight  of  the  Cardigans,  father  and  son,  to  hold  the  Valley 
of  the  Giants  against  treachery. 

CAPPY  RICKS 

Cappy  Ricks  gave  Man  Peasley  the  acid  test  because  he  knew 
it  was  good  for  his  soul. 

WEBSTER:  MAN'S  MAN 

A  man  and  a  woman  hailing  from  the  "  States,"  met  up  with  a 
revolution  while  in  Central  America.  Adventures  and  excitement 
came  so  thick  and  fast  that  their  love  affair  had  to  wait  for  a  lull 
in  the  game. 

CAPTAIN  SCRAGGS 

This  sea  yarn  recounts  the  adventures  of  three  rapscallion  sea 
faring  men. 

THE  LONG  CHANCE 

Harley  P.  Hennage  is  the  best  gambler,  the  best  and  worst 
man  of  San  Pasqual  and  of  lovely  Donna. 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,    PUBLISHERS,  NEW  YORK 


JACKSON  GREGORY'S  NOVELS 

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DAUGHTER  OF  THE  SUN 

A  tale  of  Aztec  treasure — of  American  adventurers,  who  seek  it — of 

Zoraida,  who  hides  it. 

TIMBER-WOLF 

This  is  a  story  of  action  end  of  the  wide  open,  dominated  always  by 
the  heroic  figure  of  Timber- Wolf. 

THE  EVERLASTING  WHISPER 

The  story  of  a  strong  man's  struggle  against  savage  nature  and  humanity, 
and  of  a  beautiful  girl's  regeneration  from  a  spoiled  child  of  wealth  into  at 
courageous  strong-willed  woman. 

DESERT  VALLEY 

A  college  professor  sets  out  with  his  daughter  to  find  gold.  They  meet 
a  rancher  who  loses  his  heart,  and  becomes  involved  in  a  feud. 

MAN  TO  MAN 

How  Steve  won  his  game  and  the  girl  he  loved,  is  a  *tory  filled  with 
breathless  situations. 

THE  BELLS  OF  SAN  JUAN 

Dr.  Virginia  Page  is  forced  to  go  with  the  sheriff  on  a  night  journey 
into  the  strongholds  of  a  lawless  band. 

JUDITH  OF  BLUE  LAKE  RANCH 

Judith  Sanford  part  owner  of  a  cattle  ranch  realizes  she  is  being  robbed 
by  her  foreman.  With  the  help  of  Bud  Lee,  she  checkmates  Trevor's  scheme. 

THE  SHORT  CUT 

Wayne  is  suspected  of  killing  his  brother  after  a  quarrel.  Financial  com 
plications,  a  horse-race  and  beautiful  Wanda,  make  up  a  thrilling  romance. 

THE  JOYOUS  TROUBLE  MAKER 

A  reporter  sets  up  housekeeping  close  to  Beatrice's  Ranch  much  to  her 
chagrin.  There  is  "  another  man  "  who  complicates  matters. 

SIX  FEET  FOUR 

Beatrice  Waverly  is  robbed  of  $5,000  and  suspicion  fastens  upon  Buck  ' 
Thornton,  but  she  soon  realizes  he  is  not  guilty. 

WOLF  BREED 

No  Luck  Drennan,  a  woman  hater  and  sharp  of  tongue,  finds  a  match 
in  Ygerae  whose  clever  fencing  wins  the  admiration  and  love  of  the  "  Lone 
Wolf." ' 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,          PUBLISHERS,          NEW  YORK 


THE  NOVELS  OF 

GRACE     LIVINGSTON     HILL 

(MRS.  LUTZ) 

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»* 

BEST  MAN,  THE  t 

CLOUDY  JEWEL 

DAWN  OF  THE  MORNING 

ENCHANTED  BARN,  THE 

EXIT  BETTY 

FINDING  OF  JASPER  HOLT.  THE 

GIRL  FROM  MONTANA.  THE 

LO,  MICHAEL  ! 

MAN  OF  THE  DESERT.  THE 

MARCIA  SCHUYLER 

MIRANDA 

MYSTERY  OF  MARY.  THE 

OBSESSION  OF  VICTORIA  GRACEN.  THE 

PHOEBE  DEANE 

RED  SIGNAL.  THE 

SEARCH,  THE 

TRYST,  THE 

VOICE  IN  THE  WILDERNESS,  A 

WITNESS,  THE 

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* 


GEORGE  W.  OGDEN'S  WESTERN  NOYEI5 

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. i 

THE  BARON  OF  DIAMOND  TAIL  *i 

The  Elk  Mountain  Cattle  Co.  had  not  paid  a  dividend  in  years ; 
so  Edgar  Barrett,  fresh  from  the  navy,  was  sent  West  to  see  what 
was  wrong  at  the  ranch.  The  tale  of  this  tenderfoot  outwitting  the 
buckaroos  at  their  own  play  will  sweep  you  into  the  action  of  this 
salient  western  novel. 

THE  BONDBOY 

Joe  Newbolt,  bound  out  by  force  of  femily  conditions  to  work  for* 
a  number  of  years,  is  accused  of  murder  and  circumstances  are 
against  him.  His  mouth  is  sealed;  he  cannot,  as  a  gentleman,  utter 
the  words  that  would  clear  him.  A  dramatic,  romantic  tale  of  intense 

interest. 

CLAIM  NUMBER  ONE 

Dr.  .Warren  Slavens  drew  claim  number  one,  which  entitled  him 
to  first  choice  of  rich  lands  on  an  Indian  reservation  in  Wyoming.  It 
meant  a  fortune ;  but  before  he  established  his  ownership  he  had  a 
hard  battle  with  crooks  and  politicians. 

THE  DUKE  OF  CHIMNEY  BUTTE 

When  Jerry  Lambert,  "the  Duke,"  attempts  to  safeguard  the 
cattle  ranch  of  Vesta  Philbrook  from  thieving  neighbors,  his  work  is 
appallingly  handicapped  because  of  Grace  Kerr,  one  of  the  chief  agi 
tators,  and  a  deadly  enemy  of  Vesta's.  A  stirring  tale  of  brave  deeds, 
gun-play  and  a  love  that  shines  above  all. 

THE  FLOCKMASTER  OF  POISON  CREEK 

John  Mackenzie  trod  the  trail  from  Jasper  to  the  great  sheep 
country  where  fortunes  were  being  made  by  the  flock-masters. 
Shepherding  was  not  a  peaceful  pursuit  in  those  bygone  days.  Ad- 
Venture  met  him  at  every  turn— there  is  a  girl  of  course — men  fight 
their  best  fights  for  a  woman — it  is  an  epic  of  the  sheeplands. 

THE  LAND  OF  LAST  CHANCE 

Jim  TimBerlake  and  Capt.  David  Scott  waited  with  restless 
thousands  on  the  Oklahoma  line  for  the  signal  to  dash  across  the 
border.  How  the  city  of  Victory  arose  overnight  on  the  plains,  how 
people  savagely  defended  theii  'claims  against  the  "  sooners;  "  how 
good  men  and  bad  played  politics,  makes  a  strong  story  of  growth 
and  American  initiative. 

TRAIL'S  END 

Ascalon  was  the  end  of  the  trail  for  thirsty  cowboys  who  gave 
vent  to  their  pent-up  feelings  without  restraint.  Calvin  Morgan  was 
not  concerned  with  its  wickedness  until  Seth  Craddock's  malevolence ; 
directed  itself  against  him.  He  did  not  emerge  from  the  maelstrom  j 
until  he  had  obliterated  every  vestige  of  lawlessness,  and  assured 
himself  of  the  safety  of  a  certain  dark-eyed  g-irl. 

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RUBY  M.   AYRES'    NOVELS 

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THE  LITTL'ST  LOVER 


CANDLE  LIGHT 


THE  MAN  WITHOUT  A  HEART 


THE  ROMANCE  OF  A  ROGUE 


THE  MATHERSON  MARRIAGE 


RICHARD  CHATTERTON 


A  BACHELOR  HUSBAND 


THE  SCAR 


THE   MARRIAGE  OF   BARRY  WICKLOW 


THE  UPHILL  ROAD 


WINDS  OF  THE  WORLD 


THE  SECOND  HONEYMOON 


THE   PHANTOM  LOVER 


GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,   PUBLISHERS,    NEW  YORK 


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